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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Starmer urged to tighten law on Slapps following Mandelson scandal

March 16, 2026

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tighten the law to prevent the powerful and wealthy from stopping stories about them, following the Lord Mandelson scandal. A dozen Labour MPs have written to the Prime Minister to ensure that strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as Slapps, is included in the King’s Speech in May. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump, Oil spikes, fresh Thames Water rescue deal

March 16, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. This morning Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 1.8 per cent to $104.98 per barrel during early trading in Asia. It follows President Trump stating he is unwilling to make a deal with Iran and his energy secretary warning the war will [...]
Lord Roborough refused to stay at Odey Asset Management over ‘lack of trust’

March 13, 2026

Lord Roborough, a former partner at Odey Asset Management (OAM), has rejected claims made by Crispin Odey that the City watchdog directly pressured the firm’s executives to find against him. In a legal battle against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), disgraced financier Odey claims the OAM executive committee was subject to “undue pressure from the FCA” [...]
Miliband and Reeves to meet petrol retailers as fuel costs spike

March 13, 2026

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said the government “will not tolerate” energy firms profiteering from the rising price of oil amid the war in Iran. Oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel on Thursday despite the International Energy Agency (IEA) saying on Wednesday that it would release a record 400 million barrels of oil [...]
Estee Lauder sues Jo Malone

March 12, 2026

Beauty giant Estee Lauder has launched legal action against perfumer Jo Willcox (nee Malone) over her new perfume brand with Zara. Estee Lauder bought Malone’s self-named perfume brand and naming rights ⁠in 1999 for ‘undisclosed millions’. She stayed on as creative director until 2006, when she left her eponymous perfume brand. After a five-year legal [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked

March 12, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
Closed shop? Not for long: How new laws are opening doors for trade unions

March 12, 2026

The first wave of the Employment Rights Act hit the statute books last month, signalling a potential end to the decades-long decline of UK trade unions, but businesses are already feeling the turbulence, triggering a surge of work for City employment lawyers. The Employment Rights Act has caused turmoil in businesses, not just because of [...]
Reeves’ £1.2bn consultancy savings plan in doubt, watchdog warns

March 11, 2026

Despite Rachel Reeves’ focus on cutting government spending on external consultancy services, a damning report stated that the government is unable to set meaningful targets to reduce its reliance on external firms. The UK government has said it wants to put an immediate stop to all non-essential consultancy spending and halve consultancy spending in future [...]
Robert Walters ditches dividend after swinging to loss

March 11, 2026

Robert Walters has ditched its final dividend after the recruitment firm’s bottom line took a major hit amid a cautious global sentiment around hiring. Revenue at the London-listed firm fell 12 per cent to £781.1m over the 2025 financial year – a drop from £892.1m. The group reported an operating loss of £14.9m, reversing a [...]
Crispin Odey threatened to ‘shut down’ fund if board tried to oust him

March 9, 2026

Crispin Odey threatened to “shut down” his eponymous hedge fund if he was dismissed by its board or it proceeded with investigations into his alleged misconduct against his wishes, a court will be told. Disgraced financier Odey faces the City watchdog at the High Court this week as he seeks to overturn a ruling that [...]

Serie A won’t catch the Premier League by selling its rights better

Serie A won’t catch the Premier League by selling its rights better

Lotus, Porsche and Corvette: the best sports cars to buy in 2026

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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