City law pay war intensifies: Ropes & Gray raises new lawyer salaries to eye-watering £147k November 5, 2021 Ropes & Gray has hiked the salaries of newly qualified lawyers in London by 13 per cent, as the bidding war for legal talent intensifies. Freshly qualified lawyers at the London offices of the US law firm will now take home £147,000 – with their bonus added on top – marking a neat step up [...]
Beazley gross premiums soar above expectations to £2.4bn November 5, 2021 Insurer Beazley has reported high-than-expected gross written premiums of $3.3bn (£2.4bn), driven by their cyber & executive risk and specialty lines divisions. Gross written premiums rose by 29 per cent for the nine months ended 30 September compared to last year, the insurance company announced in a trading statement today. Underwriting action since last October, [...]
Virgin Money restructuring plans push shares down 7 per cent November 4, 2021 Shares in Virgin Money have fallen 7.3 per cent this afternoon after the digital bank revised its strategy to include an expensive cost-cutting exercise. In an unscheduled trading update the lender unveiled plans to “accelerate” its switch to digital banking services, but warned of the cost-cutting exercise this would incur over the next three years [...]
Pound drops against dollar as Bank of England keeps interest rate at record low November 4, 2021 Pound sterling has fallen by almost one per cent against the dollar to $1.36 after a shock decision by the Bank of England to hold rates at 0.1 per cent. It fell similarly against the Euro by 0.51 per cent to €1.172. The market movements follow the surprise decision by the BoE to leave interest [...]
Stephenson Harwood raises newly qualified lawyer salaries to £90,000 November 4, 2021 Stephenson Harwood have raised salaries for newly qualified solicitors by 20 per cent to £90,000, as City law firms fight to attract and retain legal talent in an increasingly competitive market. While newly qualified lawyers enjoy a jump up from £75,000, staff across different levels will receive bumpers, ranging from 8-17 per cent, to their [...]
Ten entertainment expects to return to profit after record half-term November 4, 2021 Family entertainment provider Ten Entertainment expects to end the year with profits following soaring demand during half-term, and as the group prepares for Christmas. The news, announced by the entertainment group today, marked a turnaround from earlier forecasts of a loss. Although closed for the first 20 weeks of the year due to lockdown restrictions, [...]
Revolut backing venture capital firm Draper Espirit portfolio value jumps to £1.3bn November 4, 2021 UK venture capital firm Draper Esprit, which backed fintech star Revolut, expects its gross portfolio value to exceed £1.3bn. The results, predicted for its interim results for the period ended 30 September, would mark a jump of over half a billion pounds compared to the same period last year when the venture capital firm recorded [...]
Global body sets new standards for green accounting at COP26 November 3, 2021 IFRS, a global accounting body, has today announced a new set of “baseline” standards for companies to keep their investors informed about the impact of climate change to their business, amid increasing calls for climate risk to be considered. The news coincides with COP26, the global climate summit hosted in Glasgow this year. The [...]
Crypto blindspot risks ‘crumbling’ British legal system place on international stage November 3, 2021 Britain’s legal system could lose both business and its international standing because of failures to keep up with laws for new markets like crypto-currency and artificial intelligence, according to a new report. English law underpins financial contracts and transactions worth trillions around the world, according to the report by think-tank Social Market Foundation. But the [...]
Insurer LV= offers £100 to every member for £530m Bain Capital takeover November 3, 2021 British insurer LV= is offering its members £100 as a one-off payment, which will cost of a total of £111m, should takeover plans by private equity firm Bain Capital go ahead. Eligible members of LV= are scheduled to cast their vote on the proposed takeover deal, worth £530m, on Dec 10. Three quarters of votes [...]
