By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Senior Reporter Maria Ward-Brennan is a senior reporter focused on law and professional services. Contact her via email on maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B

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London’s legal elites bask in booming pay packets

Legal

While London shivers through a January cold snap, the city’s legal elite are basking in an earnings heatwave as salaries for City lawyers at major law firms have edged up over the last year. Over the 2024/2025 financial year, the average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the big firms, including Linklaters, A&O Shearman, Herbert [...]
Shares down as Tesco hits 10-year UK market share high amid festive boom

Retail

After a “strong Christmas” period, Tesco now anticipates its full-year adjusted operating profit will reach the upper end of its £2.9bn to £3.1bn forecast range. In its Q3 update, the FTSE 100 giant revealed its total group sales reached £24.9bn for the 19-week period. It was the Republic of Ireland that had a strong food [...]
Legal firm faces “material uncertainty” after publishing overdue accounts

Legal

After months of delay, the law firm behind the largest action to hit the London High Court published its 2023 financial accounts, which revealed an annual loss of £95m. Pogust Goodhead’s 2023 account, published on Companies House on Monday, four months past the deadline, showed turnover decreased sharply to £3,607,387, down from £53,077,800 in 2022. [...]

Ex-Jefferies banker pleads not guilty in FCA insider dealing case

January 7, 2026

A former banker at investment bank Jefferies pleaded not guilty to one count of insider dealing ahead of a trial listed for January 2028. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed in November that it started criminal proceedings against Bobosher Sharipov, 44, and Bekzod Avazov, 43, for alleged insider dealing. Sharipov worked at investment bank Jefferies [...]
Scathing report blames MoJ for wasting public funds and failing justice system

January 7, 2026

A new scathing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that a cyberattack last year at the Legal Aid Agency gave hackers access to sensitive providers’ and data for four months. There was a cyberattack on the Legal Aid Agency last year that took the services offline for some time [...]
Vessel insurance in focus after US strikes on Venezuela

January 6, 2026

The waters surrounding Venezuela see significant maritime traffic. However, following US air strikes on the country on Friday, an insurance body has advised shipowners to consult with underwriters before sailing. Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserves on earth, resulting in busy trade via its waters. Puerto Cabello is the country’s busiest port, [...]
Businesses are suffering financial losses from faulty AI advice

January 6, 2026

Half of UK accountants and bookkeepers have said businesses have suffered financial losses due to AI slop that has caused ‘avoidable mistakes’ in the books. New research by Dext found that nearly a third (31 per cent) of accountants and bookkeepers encounter client mistakes on a weekly basis, caused by wrong or misleading AI-generated financial [...]
EY extends global HQ stay on Thames

January 6, 2026

Big Four giant EY has renewed the lease on its global headquarters until 2040. The firm’s UK and global HQ is at 1 More London Place, whose lease was set to expire in 2028 before the firm greenlit a contract renewal. The ten-storey building on the south bank of the River Thames, with 35,000 sq [...]
Interpath and beyond: The surge of private equity investment in professional services

January 5, 2026

It was revealed this morning that Big Four giant KPMG’s former restructuring division, Interpath Advisory, was in exclusive negotiations with Bridgepoint to acquire a majority stake in its business, the latest in a string of private equity deals in the professional services sector. KPMG sold the arm to private equity group HIG Capital in 2021 for £400m. [...]
Football-style firings in SMEs: A risky game for business owners

January 5, 2026

HR professionals are seeing SMEs start to copy football’s “sack the boss” culture when things go south for the company, but warn that this strategy could turn into an “expensive legal headache”. Managers of major football teams, especially those in the Premier League, can operate like a revolving door when the team is in a [...]

Breakthrough for Leeds United after key Elland Road stadium decision

Does predictability of Ashes dilute cricket’s crown jewel for fans and sponsors?

Sheridan Smith dazzles in psychedelic Woman In Mind

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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