MPs slam tumble dryer company Whirlpool over attitude to safety November 1, 2019 MPs today slammed tumble dryer company Whirlpool for its attitude to safety and its use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). A report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee declared it “astonishing” that four years on from Whirlpool revealing defects in its tumble-dryers that as many as 800,000 defective machines could still be present [...]
Judgment imminent in Lloyds’ shareholders £600m financial crisis-era group action October 31, 2019 The long-awaited judgment in a financial crisis-era shareholder action against Lloyds Banking Group and five former directors of Lloyds TSB is expected imminently, according to people close to the case. The £600m claim focused on Lloyds TSB’s acquisition of HBOS in autumn 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. The claimant group of 300 [...]
Goals Soccer Centres bought by Soccerworld and private equity firm Inflexion after accounting fiasco October 31, 2019 Five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres has been acquired today by rival Soccerworld and private equity firm Inflexion. Goals has been hit by an accounting scandal after its auditor BDO discovered it had mis-declared VAT amounting to at least £13.2m. The company delisted its shares from Aim in August after it declared it was unable [...]
All Grant Thornton’s scandals are denting partners’ profits October 31, 2019 Partner profit at embattled accountancy firm Grant Thornton UK dropped this year after the firm was embroiled in a series of scandals and its chief executive stepped down after an internal coup. In a year to forget for the UK’s sixth-largest accountancy firm, partner profits fell nearly six per cent to £323,000 from £343,000. The [...]
Citi chief political analyst Tina Fordham moves to new boutique law firm Avonhurst October 31, 2019 Investment bank Citi’s chief global political analyst Tina Fordham is moving to new boutique law firm Avonhurst as a partner and head of global political strategy, the firm announced today. The hire is an unusual one as law firms have not traditionally advised their clients on political risk. Speaking to City A.M. Fordham said: “It [...]
Daiwa Capital Markets faces $150m bill after Supreme Court appeal loss October 30, 2019 Daiwa Capital Markets Europe faces a $150m (£116m) bill after losing an appeal to the UK Supreme Court today. The court ruled in favour of Singularis Holdings – now in liquidation – in a claim for negligence against the English subsidiary of the Japanese bank. The case relates to a payment Daiwa made at the [...]
Audit watchdog calls for better risk forecasts to improve public trust in business October 30, 2019 The audit watchdog today called for firms to provide more information on strategic risks to help improve public trust in business. High-profile failures like travel agent Thomas Cook and outsourcer Carillion have led to fingers pointed at companies and their auditors with questions raised over why risks were not set out in the company’s accounts. [...]
Two surveys say business confidence plumbing depths on Brexit crisis October 30, 2019 Two surveys of UK business leaders published today show plunging confidence as the country’s political crisis drags on. Accountancy firm BDO found business leaders in the UK were the least confident of any major European country, with two thirds of respondents believing the economic climate will deteriorate over the next six months and only 10 [...]
Government faces calls for reform as data shows dominance of Big Four audit firms October 29, 2019 Data published yesterday by the audit watchdog showed that the Big Four accounting firms increased their market share of the UK audit market in 2018. The lack of competition in the sector has come under the microscope following scandals such as the failures of outsourcer Carillion and department store BHS which both received clean bills [...]
Men dominate investment banking deals, research finds October 28, 2019 A new ranking of Europe’s top investment bankers reveals that no women were included in the top 10 by number of deals over £100m. According to the research by data platform Mergerlinks , the top deal doer in Europe in the year ended the first half of 2019 was Rothschild & Co banker Dominic Hollamby [...]