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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Smuggling gangs likely to capitalise on tobacco bill, experts say

October 27, 2025

As the Lords debate Labour’s tobacco and vapes Bill, experts have warned it could hand a major victory to the same organised criminal gangs behind illegal smuggling. Labour’s proposed Bill, which started the committee stage at the House of Lords on Monday, would create a generational ban on tobacco sales and implement stricter regulations on [...]
EY UK bounces back with growth in most divisions but consulting lags

October 27, 2025

Big Four giant EY UK has seen a bounce back after its fee income grew by 2 per cent over the last financial year to £3.78bn, with the majority of its divisions seeing growth. The firm’s distributable profits before tax grew by over 3 per cent, from £653m in FY24 to £679m, while the giant also reported [...]
The compromising iPad photos that dragged a London quant trader to court

October 25, 2025

An additional point of context was added to the end of this article on 23 June 2026. It’s never easy moving jobs in the Square Mile – especially for the higher ups. Once you reach a certain seniority, your employer frets over the threat posed if you jump ship – what strategic information you could [...]
Sheffield Wednesday enter administration owing £1m in unpaid tax

October 24, 2025

Struggling Championship club Sheffield Wednesday have filed for administration amid mounting financial issues under the stewardship of Dejphon Chansiri. Thai tuna tycoon Chansiri has owned the Hillsborough club for a decade but the Owls have been under pressure to pay staff for a number of months, and reportedly owe around £1m in unpaid tax to [...]
AI drives surge in fraud as criminals turn to more sophisticated scams

October 24, 2025

Fraud losses hit £629m in H1 2025, driven by new investment scams and record card fraud, as AI enables criminals to commit more sophisticated scams. For the first six months of 2025, there were over 2m confirmed fraud cases, a 17 per cent increase, according to trade body UK Finance, as criminals stole £629.3m, a [...]
Treasury’s LLP tax proposal could add £46,000 burden per partner

October 23, 2025

Law firms’ partners could face an additional £1.4bn in tax each year if the Treasury goes ahead with imposing a 15 per cent rate of national insurance contributions on LLPs. According to data provided by HMRC to UHY Hacker Young, partners of law firms made a total of £9.2bn in profits in the latest year. [...]
RSM UK approves merger with US arm, backing partnership over private equity

October 23, 2025

Accountancy firm RSM UK has greenlit a merger with its US sister, RSM US, to create a $5bn (£3.75bn) new partnership structure, in the first major transatlantic combination in the accountancy sector. It was reported last October that both firms were in talks, with a focus on the mid-market. On Thursday, after a “near-unanimous vote” [...]
Legal sector feeling subdued as regulator loses its AML powers

October 23, 2025

The Treasury’s decision to transfer oversight of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision to the FCA has sparked concerns within the professional services sector. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) served as a Professional Body Supervisor (PBS) for AMLCT for law firms across England and Wales, while for the accountancy sector, the HMRC plays the supervision [...]
Lawyers sound alarm over Rachel Reeves’ proposed tax target on LLPs

October 22, 2025

The Chancellor is reportedly looking to target limited liability partnerships (LLPs) for a tax raid as she tries to fill the fiscal black hole, but critics warn that this move will have consequences for the professional services sector. The LLP model, used by professional services such as law firms, accountancy, and some doctors (GPs), came into force [...]
Fully remote with no associates: Meet the ‘elite’ law firm of the future

October 22, 2025

US lawyers Michael Pierson and Joel Ferdinand joined forces “with the vision to build the elite law firm of the future”, going in the opposite direction of the traditional market with a tech-focused, full-service approach. Oh, and no offices. And no associates. Founded in January 2024, New York-based Pierson Ferdinand became the largest law firm [...]

Hold interest rates but ‘sound hawkish’, City AM Shadow MPC tells Bank of England

Premier League and EFL set for summit with Football Regulator over new financial deal

Why the Bank of England museum is a one-of-a-kind

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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