Saga looks to sell off insurance business to help pay down £721m debt January 22, 2023 Saga is reportedly seeking to sell its in-house insurance business in a bid to raise £90m to help pay down its huge £721m debt. The London-listed company, which offers cruises, package holidays, insurance, and financial services to the over-50s, is looking for buyers for its underwriting arm, according to The Sunday Times. Any sale of [...]
McDonalds and Nissan could buy back Russian subsidiaries as it is revealed most Western corps have failed to exit the country January 19, 2023 The vast majority of Western corporations have failed to properly exit Russia, according to research carried out by two Swiss universities. Multinational firms such as including McDonalds and Nissan even have kept an option to buy back their Russian subsidiaries via clauses into their exit contracts; this would let them return to Russia if tensions [...]
Lloyd’s of London boomers told to move aside and listen to millennials January 19, 2023 Lloyd’s of London must make sure millennials and zoomers are playing a part in creating the marketplace’s future, the trade body that represents Lloyd’s insurers has said. In a new manifesto, the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA) called for a return to the underwriting room, as it argued younger generations will be vital [...]
UK’s data watchdog to shift away from big fines to focus on prevention January 18, 2023 The UK’s data watchdog has vowed to shift away from simply hitting companies with big fines for breaching data privacy rules and instead will look to adopt a more preventative approach. John Edwards, head of the Information Commissioner’s Office, said today that he will focus on preventing data breaches from happening in the first place [...]
Gateley chief says truce in legal sector pay war will boost firm’s expansion plans January 18, 2023 An easing of the pay war between law firms has already begun to benefit Gateley’s balance sheet as the listed law firm’s chief executive outlined his expansion plans to City A.M. Gateley boss Rod Waldie said the “whole sector is benefiting” from the calming of the legal sector pay war that has seen lawyers’ salaries [...]
London firm Shipleys investigated over audit of Russian fintech Zaim Credit Systems January 18, 2023 The UK’s accounting regulator has launched an investigation into London accounting firm Shipleys over its audit work for the UK-listed holding company of Russian fintech firm Zaim Express. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said today that it has decided to open an investigation into the firm’s audit of Zaim Credit Systems’ 2021 accounts. The FRC’s [...]
Carillion: Five years on, MPs and industry leaders demand audit reform to ensure scandal is not repeated January 18, 2023 On the fifth anniversary of the collapse of outsourcer Carillion, MPs and audit sector leaders have united in calling on the UK government to push forwards with plans to overhaul the country’s audit sector. MPs said a shake-up of the country’s accounting industry is needed imminently to ensure that audit failures, such as the one [...]
UK law firms plunged into bankruptcy by soaring insurance premiums January 17, 2023 Dozens of UK law firms have collapsed into bankruptcy over the last year due to being unable to obtain the insurance policies they need to continue operating, new research shows. The rising cost of taking out professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies – that cover any losses arising from negligent services – caused nine UK [...]
PwC steps down from auditing heavily-indebted property developer Evergrande January 17, 2023 PwC has resigned as Evergrande’s auditor following a series of disagreements with the heavily-indebted property developer over its audit of the firm’s 2021 accounts. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Evergrande said its board had decided to replace PwC as the company’s auditor after the two parties failed to reach an agreement [...]
Deloitte snaps up London tech consultancy Reformis January 16, 2023 Deloitte has completed its acquisition of London tech consultancy Reformis as it pushes forwards with efforts to bolster its advisory business. The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will see Reformis’ 83 staff join the Big Four accounting firm as it seeks to capitalise on booming demand for tech focused advice. Founded in 2003, the consulting [...]