The UK economy could gain almost 4,000 new jobs and £1.75bn worth of development if business rates were cut December 10, 2015 Cutting business rates could unlock around £1.75bn worth of development over the next five years, which is more than the development value of the Shard, Walkie Talkie and Cheesegrater combined. According to a report published today by the British Property Federation (BPF), British Council of Shopping Centers and British Council for Offices, reassessing how rates are applied would [...]
London financial services job market slows down ahead of Christmas, as available roles drop by 32 per cent in November December 10, 2015 Available financial services jobs in London plummeted to 6,405 in November, a 32 per cent decline compared to October, when there were 9,480 jobs on offer. According to the figures released today by professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley, the number of London professionals seeking new roles also dropped to 10,492, down 27 per cent from [...]
HMRC publishes draft legislation designed to extend tax evasion offences to companies who failed to prevent it happening December 9, 2015 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) today published the results of its consultation, alongside draft legislation, for a proposed criminal offence for companies which fail to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion. The draft legislation lays down provisions for a criminal offence where somebody who is performing services on behalf of a company commits tax evasion. [...]
US-based Computer Sciences Corporation set to buy Xchanging in £480m deal, beating out a previous offer from Capita December 9, 2015 Business technology and services provider Xchanging’s board of directors today agreed to be purchased by US-based digital consultancy company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). CSC’s cash offer of 190p per share, which is worth about £480m, beat out an offer of 160p per share from outsourcing giant Capita, which had also shown an interest in buying [...]
BDO International posts double-digital revenue growth of 13pc and combined total fee income of $7.3bn for 2015 December 9, 2015 Global accountancy network BDO International today revealed combined total fee income $7.3bn (£4.8bn), which represents double-digit revenue growth of 13 per cent on a constant currency basis, for its year ended 30 September 2015. The network, which now operates in 154 countries, has also been involved in 19 mergers throughout the year, and has boosted its [...]
Begbies Traynor sees profits plummet to £0.6m amid difficult insolvency market December 9, 2015 Business recovery and property services consultancy Begbies Traynor today revealed profit before tax of £0.6m for its six months ended 31 October 2015, plunging from £1.5m for the same period last year. However, revenue for the company increased to £25.5m for the period, up from £20.8m in 2014. The company noted that the financial performance was in [...]
Half of finance leaders predict struggles with hiring staff in the new year, with risk, compliance and governance professionals being in particularly high demand December 9, 2015 Half of UK senior finance professionals expect their business to have more difficulties attracting and retaining key talent in 2016 than they did this year. In a study published today by specialist accountancy and finance recruiter Savant Recruitment, over 80 per cent of those interviewed said they thought they would struggle to recruit risk, compliance and governance [...]
Former Prudential Europe boss: There’s no way we’ll leave the EU – A Brexit means it would take 15 years to “disentangle” our deals December 8, 2015 A vote for Brexit could be a vote for 15 years of commercial red tape, as the UK struggles to untangle itself from countless agreements dependent on EU membership, according to a leading financial services figure. Speaking at an event hosted by EY today, Mark Wood, former boss of Prudential Europe, revealed that he thought [...]
UK weather: Storm Desmond’s cost to insurers creeps up to a possible £325m, far outstripping the costs of 2009 floods, as bad weather threatens further damage December 8, 2015 The predicted cost to insurers of Storm Desmond has crept up, as continued bad weather threatens to cause even greater damage. Professional services firm PwC, which yesterday estimated that the insurance costs would be between £175m and £250m, today suggested insurers could find themselves paying out between £250m and £325m. “Clearly these are initial estimates as [...]
UK Pensions: Around five million annuity holders could be about to find out more about how to sell their fixed income for a lump sum December 8, 2015 An estimated five million annuity holders could soon have a clearer idea of how they could resell their retirement income stream for a cash lump sum in the next few days. Hargreaves Lansdown Pensions today pointed out that the Summer Budget revealed the government will set out plans for the secondary market for annuities in the autumn, meaning [...]
