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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Howden expands US footprint with acquisition of Atlantic Global Risk

January 5, 2026

Insurance giant Howden has acquired US independent transaction-liability insurance broker Atlantic Global Risk as part of its US expansion. New York-headquartered Atlantic Group has over 110 people across four key business areas: representations and warranties insurance, tax liability insurance, contingent risk insurance, and credit risk insurance. Howden’s focus in the USA is a strategic and [...]
Trump’s push for ‘crypto capital’ sparks PwC shift towards digital assets

January 5, 2026

The US arm of the Big Four giant PwC has changed its stance on cryptocurrency work following President Donald Trump’s fondness for digital assets. Trump has pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” after passing the ‘Genius Act’, which governs digital assets such as stablecoins, into law last year. As a [...]
US law firms lead London hiring, fuelled by private capital growth

January 5, 2026

Legal recruiters for big law firms in the City had a busy 2025 as hiring for the most senior lawyers surged, with the trend expected to continue into the new year. As employment figures rose in the UK to above the 5 per cent mark in 2025, according to figures by legal recruiter Edwards Gibson, [...]
The six-figure club: Associates at elite US legal firms set for bonus boom

December 30, 2025

More than 60 per cent of UK workers aren’t expecting a Christmas bonus this year, but that’s not the case for City lawyers, some of who will receive generous six-figure payouts. Many US law firms operate under the Cravath Scale, named after the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a transparent lockstep system of associate [...]
Tax crackdown in 2026: Why experts predict a wave of enforcement actions

December 30, 2025

Under the Labour government, HMRC has shifted from a reactive to a highly proactive stance, and tax experts expect increased tax enforcement in the new year. The government has committed to invest an additional £555m annually in HMRC to boost tax compliance and transform its technology. The investment aims to raise an extra £5.1bn in [...]
Accountancy body reverts to in-person exams over AI cheating fears

December 29, 2025

The UK’s accounting body, which has almost 260,000 members, is planning to halt remote exams amid a surge of students cheating with AI. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has said that from March it will no longer allow students to take online exams, except in exceptional circumstances. Remote testing, like in many universities [...]
Everyman boss departs with immediate effect weeks after profit warning

December 29, 2025

The boss of luxury cinema chain Everyman Media Group has stepped down weeks after warning over sales and profits following poor box office trading. Shareholders were informed on Monday morning that Alex Scrimgeour was stepping down as chief executive with immediate effect, with current non-executive director Farah Golant to take over on an interim basis [...]
New Companies House ID rule triggers 30 per cent slump in registrations

December 29, 2025

Companies House’s new rules to prevent fraud have sparked a dramatic fall in new company registrations. As of 18 November, a new law came into effect requiring company directors to verify their identity, with failure to do so carrying enforcement risks. The new rules were part of Companies House’s new ID powers, which aim to [...]
Rolls-Royce boss ‘Turbo Tufan’ on track for record £100m payday

December 29, 2025

The boss of Rolls-Royce is expected to receive a share-based bumper that could exceed £100m, following the turnaround that has seen the engineering group’s market value surge. Tufan Erginbilgic, who took charge at the start of 2023, was awarded 8.3m shares as part of his package deal to take over the FTSE 100 giant. At [...]
BP to sell majority stake in Castrol to US investment firm

December 24, 2025

BP’s share price was slightly up on Wednesday after it announced the sale of a majority stake in its lubricant business to a US investment firm in a deal valuing the unit at $10.1bn (£7.5bn). The FTSE 100 oil giant kicked off the sale process in February, and New York-based Stonepeak has agreed to buy [...]

Investor pressure mounts on boss of King’s favourite interior designer

Bagatelle: Is exclusive Chelsea offering future of Premier League hospitality?

Where to eat Greek food in central London

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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