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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Family of suspected ‘Putney pusher’ hit out at Met Police ‘pressure’

September 17, 2026

The family of the multi-millionaire banker accused of being the ‘Putney pusher’ have hit out at the Metropolitan Police over his death, insisting on his innocence. Nicholas Brandram, who worked as a director at a private bank and was a former British Army officer, serving in several major conflicts, was discovered dead in his West [...]
Why it could now cost more to sack an executive in the UK than FRANCE

September 17, 2026

Labour’s overhaul of employment rights, particularly the removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap, could leave British businesses facing a higher bill for dismissing executives than their European counterparts. As the government pushed its Employment Rights Bill into law, it ditched the £118,000 compensation limit on unfair dismissal claims to appease unions after the House [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 soars after Bank of England holds interest rates

September 17, 2026

Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. Investors responded positively to the Bank of England’s widely tipped decision to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that volatile energy prices caused by the Iran war will push inflation up further than its current 3.1 [...]
Costa del Court: City law firm follows wealthy Brits to Mallorca

September 16, 2026

London-based family law firm AFP Bloom has opened an office in Mallorca to serve the growing number of British families relocating to the Spanish island. The law firm, known for its work with high-net-worth and international families, has opened a new Palma office, allowing clients to receive specialist English legal advice in-person on the island [...]
Clean up or lawyer up: The FCA’s culture war gets real

September 16, 2026

With the City watchdog empowered to penalise non-financial misconduct and fresh off a win at the Upper Tribunal, lawyers now expect to be flooded with work from businesses that are grappling with the focus on culture, as bullying, harassment, and serious misconduct are no longer just HR matters, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The Financial Conduct Authority [...]
KPMG wields axe again with 200 tech and cyber roles on the block

September 15, 2026

KPMG UK is set to lay off hundreds of staff in its data and tech division in the latest round of redundancies at the Big Four firm. The new round of cuts will affect 200 roles from its advisory business, according to the Financial Times, and amounts to about 4 per cent of the firm’s [...]
Consulting giant Accenture to pay £18.5m to settle probe into hiring practices

September 15, 2026

New York-listed consultancy giant Accenture has agreed to pay the US government $25m (£18.5m) to settle allegations over its diversity practices. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that Accenture violated federal anti-discrimination requirements while certifying compliance to secure federal contracts. The US government claims that the Dublin-headquartered firm allocated costs related to these hiring and [...]
Europe’s boardroom pay gap with North America narrows amid battle for expertise

September 15, 2026

European financial institutions have aggressively closed the transatlantic pay gap at board level, driven by efforts to attract top-tier and specialist talent as boards face into a growing range of complex challenges. An EY analysis of more than 2,000 financial sector directors shows European non-executive remuneration surged 10 per cent in 2025, more than double [...]
Gaming platform Roblox sues British charity

September 14, 2026

The group behind US gaming giant Roblox is suing a UK food brand and its philanthropic arm over alleged intellectual property infringement. Roblox Corporation, the Californian video game developer, filed a lawsuit in the London High Court on Friday against Roc Co, a British grocery business, and its charity arm, according to filings seen by City [...]
Crispin Odey loses appeal to overturn lifetime financial services ban

September 14, 2026

Former hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey has failed to overturn a £1.8m fine and lifetime ban from working in the financial services industry. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) earlier this year hit Odey with the fine and banned him from working in the industry after a series of historic sexual assault allegations from former female [...]

Nandy flags downsides of closer EU relations

Women’s football doesn’t need to become men’s football to succeed

The Capitalist: City AM reporter gets royal trashing by AI slop

By: Maria Ward-Brennan

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