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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Businesses face new ‘right to work’ compliance burden as gig economy checks loom

November 3, 2025

The UK government is moving to extend mandatory ‘right to work’ checks to cover individuals hired under a ‘worker’s contract’, in a move to address gaps in the law in the gig economy. The Home Office launched a consultation last week as it seeks to clamp down on illegal working. As a result, for the [...]
MHA set to deliver double-digit revenue growth as strategy pays off

October 31, 2025

Listed professional services group MHA has revealed that its first half 2026 revenue is expected to jump around 13 per cent from the same period last year, as it remains on track to meet full-year market expectations. In a trading update on Friday morning, the firm said revenue for the six months ended 30 September [...]
Abu Dhabi sets sights New York, London and Singapore

October 30, 2025

Over the last decade, Abu Dhabi has attracted more than 300 financial firms, with a combined $28.6 trillion in assets globally, as the city positions itself as a global “capital of capital.” ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, revealed it has experienced rapid growth from financial firms over the last three years, increasing from 131 [...]
UK public uneasy about self-driving vehicles ahead of Waymo launch

October 30, 2025

Ahead of Waymo’s arrival on British roads, a new report reveals that nearly three-quarters of people in the UK are concerned about the safety of self-driving vehicles. According to insurer Allianz, across six regions, more than 70 per cent of Brits said they had concerns about this emerging technology, compared to between 64 per cent [...]
Record number of UK businesses face financial woes ahead of Budget

October 30, 2025

The number of UK businesses in ‘critical’ financial distress has surged as the economy cries out for certainty in Rachel Reeves’ November Budget. The number of businesses in ‘critical’ financial distress surged 78 per cent year-on-year, to 55,530 in the third quarter of 2025, up from 31,201 in the same quarter last year. The latest [...]
Trump’s DEI crackdown sparks ethics exodus across UK businesses

October 30, 2025

US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on initiatives such as diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) and environmental sustainability has drifted across the Atlantic. According to research by law firm Freeths, over half of UK businesses (54 per cent) have changed the way they approach ethical policies and practices. While over a quarter (28 per cent) have [...]
FTSE 100 Live: OpenAI plots IPO, Shell kicks off $3.5bn buyback

October 30, 2025

Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. The war of words between banks and private credit ratcheted up on Wednesday, after a trio of bosses from private lenders rounded on claims their industry played a pivotal role in a string of recent debt-related collapses, branding it “misinformation”. During a fiery evidence session in the [...]
The Gulf gamble: American and British law firms racing to Saudi Arabia

October 30, 2025

Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming the focus of global legal attention. But this shift is not merely speculative; it is part of a calculated move by the Kingdom to attract world-class expertise. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia changed its law two years ago to allow foreign law firms to operate independently, as part of its [...]
Labour faces setback as Lords boots back workers’ rights Bill

October 29, 2025

The Employment Rights Bill failed to clear the final hurdle, as the House of Lords ping-ponged it back to MPs for further debate over disputed points, including the controversial granting of ‘day one’ rights. The highly contested Bill, which was a significant part of Labour’s manifesto, will see a major overhaul in the UK’s employment [...]
Top court sides with HMRC as NHS hospitals liable for VAT on parking fees

October 29, 2025

HMRC brought a case against a branch of NHS hospitals to the Supreme Court over whether VAT should have been charged on hospital car parking fees, and they’ve succeeded. Today marks the end of a five-year legal battle through each court stage over VAT on parking tickets used by patients, visitors, and hospital staff at [...]

Abolish stamp duty on shares to reverse London’s IPO slump, say top fintechs

All Hundred owners expected to explore bids for Big Bash cricket franchises

Are Peugeot’s 208, 2008 and 3008 good enough for the city?

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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