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 was previously a litigation reporter at The Lawyer. Contact her via email at maria.ward-brennan@cityam.com or X (Twitter) @MariaW_B.

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Legal battle over Labour’s inheritance tax reliefs set for March hearing

February 27, 2026

The legal challenge to proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) has been listed for an urgent two-day hearing next month. The proposed changes to APR and the BPR represent one of the biggest shifts in UK IHT policy in decades, following the government’s initial increase of the threshold to [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Pound hits two month low after byelection, Flutter shares tumble

February 27, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We were treated to a whole host of corporate updates yesterday and investors in some of the City’s biggest blue-chips were handed plans for bumper returns. Aerospace giant Rolls-Royce revealed ambitions to dish out up to £9bn to shareholders through from 2026 to 2028. The [...]
Courtrooms in the cloud: How Opus 2 quietly changed the game

February 26, 2026

AI is making its mark on the legal profession, an industry renowned for its cautious approach to change. Yet, behind the scenes, innovative technologies have been quietly transforming courtrooms for years. If you ever sat behind the row of barristers and the lawyers that instructed them in a courtroom at the High Court, you may [...]
Accountancy firms face margin squeeze as AI disrupts compliance services

February 25, 2026

Most UK accountancy firms admit margins on traditional compliance services are under pressure from automation, as professional services firms rethink strategies in the age of AI. According to a report shared exclusively with City AM by Ravical, while most British firms believe margins have increased over the last three years, the majority (63 per cent) [...]
Big Four consulting giants pivot to ‘high-growth verticals’ amid AI disruption

February 24, 2026

Following news of Deloitte’s latest expansion, experts predict a wave of restructuring and a “high-growth vertical” focus across the Big Four giants. On Monday, Deloitte revealed its plans to launch a Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) firm, aiming to build a regional powerhouse that keeps pace with rapid technological change. The new firm will [...]
Lord Mandelson arrested: What led to police action?

February 24, 2026

Peter Mandelson was arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but how did we get here? The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday evening that they had arrested a 72-year-old man in Camden. Mandelson was photographed being taken out of his house at 4:30 pm by detectives from the Met’s [...]
Record number of women appointed to FTSE 350 boards

February 24, 2026

The UK has seen a “transformational” shift in gender diversity, with women now holding 43 per cent of board roles across FTSE 350 companies, a leap from just 9.5 per cent in 2011. The FTSE Women Leaders Review, a government-backed initiative sponsored by KPMG UK and Lloyds Banking Group, revealed that 92 per cent of [...]
Occupancy down at Unite Students, but demand surges at ‘elite’ universities

February 24, 2026

Unite Students saw a slide in occupancy across its portfolio, offset by resilient demand at top elite universities. The student accommodation developer reported a 9 per cent increase in adjusted earnings to £232.3m for 2025. However, its statutory profit fell by 78 per cent due to a decline in the valuation of the property portfolio. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks take a dip amid tariff turmoil; Oil price soars

February 24, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The good old safety net of London’s blue-chip index strikes again. The week kicked off with more tariff drama after Saturday’s announcement from President Donald Trump of a sweeping 15 per cent levy across the US’ trading partners. As cool heads prevailed in government – [...]
Businesses continue to face legal uncertainty despite court ruling on tariffs

February 23, 2026

When the US Supreme Court handed down a landmark judgment against President Donald Trump’s tariffs last week the ruling sent shockwaves across the world, raising questions about what is next for businesses. On Friday, the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 Conservative majority, struck down the tariffs, which could pose major financial consequences for the [...]

Questions raised over FCA’s new short-selling rules

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By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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