PwC resigns as Staffline auditor following delay to 2018 results August 12, 2019 Recruiter Staffline said today that is auditor PwC has resigned after it put its audit contract out to tender. Staffline significantly delayed the release of its 2018 results after PwC received an anonymous email the day before their schedule released raising concerns about Staffline’s accounting practices. Read more: Staffline shares plunge after firm reveals £32.6m [...]
Shares in M&C Saatchi plunge after it announces £6.4m charge following accounting errors August 12, 2019 Shares in M&C Saatchi fell more than 20 per cent this morning after it announced a £6.4m charge after discovering accounting errors. The advertising agency network said that following an internal accounting review it had set aside £4.9m related to specific issues identified within its accounts and £1.5m “as a conservative measure to provide for [...]
Struggling mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirm merger talks August 12, 2019 Mattress start-ups Eve Sleep and Simba confirmed today they are in talks to merge. The two businesses have struggled recently with Woodford-backed Eve suffering a share crash after investors were offered shares at a steep discount during a £15m funding round in December. Read more: Eve Sleep shares plummet after investors buy in for a [...]
Goals Soccer Centres confirms investigation of former execs over accounting scandal August 12, 2019 Troubled five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres confirmed today it is investigating its former chief executive and chief financial officer in connection to an accounting scandal that has rocked the company. Former chief executive Keith Rogers and former chief finance officer Bill Gow had been named in previous press reports as subjects of investigations. Read [...]
UK public company debt jumps to £638bn August 12, 2019 UK public company debt jumped nearly seven per cent to hit £638bn, research published today shows. Borrowing rose for the eighth consecutive year in 2018-19, according to analysis from Link Group. Net debt (total borrowings less cash) rose 5.8 per cent to a new record of £443.2bn. Net debt has risen by three quarters since [...]
Outlook for employment falls as UK teeters on brink of recession August 12, 2019 The outlook for employment in the UK has fallen for the third consecutive growth following half a decade of sustained group, according to research published today. An employment index combining forward-looking employment intentions and the proportion of part-time or temporary workers in the UK jobs market from audit firm BDO, fell to 112.76 points in [...]
City watchdog launches fraud probe into Goals Soccer Centres August 11, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reportedly launched an investigation into fraud at Goals Soccer Centres. The five-a-side football operator announced earlier this month that it was to delist from the stock market after an investigation into its accounting practices found “improper behaviour”. Trading in its shares was suspended in March after it said it [...]
Shortseller Gotham City piles pressure on under-fire Burford Capital with further criticism August 11, 2019 Shortseller Gotham City Research has added to the pressure on litigation funder Burford Capital which it described today as “inappropriately financed”. Burford’s market value fell by nearly half last week before regaining some of those losses after it was savaged in a report by hedge fund Muddy Waters which has taken a short position in [...]
Window slams shut on litigation funder floats after Burford Capital’s terrible week August 11, 2019 The attack by shortseller Muddy Waters on Burford Capital last week has slammed shut the window on other litigation funders looking to go public. Muddy Waters criticised Burford’s use of fair value accounting – the inclusion of unrealised gains – and accused the funder of “aggressively marking” the value of the cases on its books, something Burford denied. The Aim darling-turned-lame-duck lost [...]
Trio of ex-Barclays execs facing October trial over Qatar financial crisis fundraisings August 8, 2019 Three senior former Barclays executives are set to face a criminal trial in October on charges relating to their involvement in Qatar’s participation in an emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis. Barclays’ former investment head for the Middle East and north Africa Roger Jenkins, former wealth management boss Tom Kalaris and former [...]