By: Maria Ward-Brennan

Professional Services Editor Maria Ward-Brennan is the Professional Services Editor at City AM, focused on law, Big Four, and other management and accounting consulting firms. She edits the Beyond The Billable newsletter and column. She was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or on X @MariaW_B.

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Robert Jenrick hits out at Deloitte and KPMG over job cuts

Politics

Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick has criticised Big Four giants Deloitte and KPMG for laying off British staff, alleging they did so while “importing thousands of migrant workers”. In his latest video post, standing outside Deloitte’s London HQ, the MP said Deloitte “laid off 800 UK staff” but that “over the last five years, they have [...]
Big Four scoop £1.5bn in government contracts despite Labour’s pledge to cut spend

Big Four

The Big Four have collectively secured over £1.5bn in public contracts so far this year despite the UK government’s pledge to cut spending on external consultants to save taxpayers’ money. An investigation by market intelligence platform Tussell found the government has awarded KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PwC over £1.5bn in contracts so far in 2026, [...]
American Airlines sues London travel consortium

Lawsuit

Aviation titan American Airlines and one of its special purpose vehicles have filed a lawsuit against a group of British travel agents at the London High Court. The US airline and its subsidiary, AAdvantage Loyalty IP, filed a claim against against Advantage Travel Centres on Tuesday, according to filings in the High Court’s Intellectual Property [...]

British firms reshape workforce for AI amid staff resistance to office return

October 15, 2026

Top bosses at British businesses have said lingering resistance to returning to the office remains a challenge, as City firms focus on redesigning roles to support human-AI collaboration. According to KPMG’s 2026 global CEO outlook, investment in AI remains a top priority for global business leaders, as most British bosses (87 per cent) expect to [...]
Government’s AI tool eases probation work amid prison overcrowding measures

October 14, 2026

The government introduced an AI transcription tool designed to help probation officers focus on reducing reoffending, as a second wave of prisoners were released early from overcrowded prisons. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) developed an AI transcription tool, ‘Justice Transcribe’, to help probation officers record meeting notes. After [...]
Banning non-competes is a hollow victory — firms will just ramp up gardening leave

October 14, 2026

The Prime Minister revealed last Friday that the government will curb non-compete clauses in employment contracts, a move that has raised some eyebrows in the City. But despite business pushback over yet another overhaul of employment laws, City lawyers have already been 10 steps ahead with alternatives, Maria Ward-Brennan writes. Andy Burnham, in his speech [...]
City lawyers say GPU financing is the new data centre gold rush

October 14, 2026

As AI drives demand for larger data centres, lenders are increasingly financing the costly Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) inside them, which can cost almost as much as the buildings themselves. Data suggests that since the generative AI boom took off in 2023, global investment in GPUs and AI chip infrastructure has been staggering, with figures [...]
‘Moral hazard’ – Lawyers warn SFO whistleblowing rewards could backfire

October 12, 2026

The UK government has launched a consultation on reforming whistleblowing laws, seeking to give the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) powers to reward individuals who report economic crime, a move experts view with scepticism. On Monday, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and minister for the future of work, Kate Dearden, revealed the government’s plans for a “whistleblowing [...]
McKinsey senior partner demoted over controversial social media post

October 12, 2026

Management consulting giant McKinsey & Company has stripped one of its directors at its business and economics research arm of his leadership role after his post on LinkedIn about the battle female executives face in the workplace. Chris Bradley, a senior partner in Australia, was removed from leadership roles after an internal review of his [...]
Big Four giant Deloitte accused of faking paperwork to hide Roman Abramovich wealth

October 12, 2026

The Cyprus branch of Big Four giant Deloitte and its spin-off are alleged to have falsified corporate paperwork to protect former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich’s assets before the UK government sanctioned him. According to a joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and BBC Panorama, it is alleged that accounts signed off [...]

UK company profit warnings surge as Iran war drives up costs

What drinking alcohol at football could tell us about sporting fandom

Is this Europe’s weirdest holiday? Bog swimming in Estonia

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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