Disruptive law firm Keystone reveals £50m float plans November 16, 2017 Disruptive law firm Keystone today announced plans for a £50m float to boost its brand and enhance growth prospects. Founded in 2002, Keystone was one of the first so-called "platform" firms. The company sits as an umbrella, allowing smaller firms to operate out of their own offices but under Keystone's brand. Lawyers do not receive [...]
World’s biggest fund managers control more money than the total wealth of Europe October 30, 2017 The world’s 500 biggest fund managers now control over $80 trillion (£61 trillion) of money, according to research released today. Total assets under management swelled by 5.8 per cent to $81.2 trillion by the end of 2016, according to Willis Towers Watson. This means the largest fund managers in the world control more money than [...]
Carillion locked in £200m row over contract to prepare Qatar for 2022 FIFA World Cup October 26, 2017 Struggling contractor Carillion is locked in a £200m row over money owed on a project linked to the development of Qatar in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The cash-strapped firm has not been paid for almost a year for work on a $650m (£493m) contract handed to Carillion and joint venture partner Qatar [...]
The Square Mile has the UK’s least potholey roads, it turns out October 19, 2017 Want to drive on pothole-free roads? Then London's financial district is the place to be, council figures released today reveal. Just 123 potholes were reported in 2016, according to figures obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request, equivalent to a depth of only two metres. The City spent £174,960 fixing potholes, and, in a [...]
Brevan Howard US fixed income head jumps ship and heads to Barclays September 6, 2017 A top trader from Brevan Howard’s New York office has left the renowned hedge fund to head up Barclays' macro trading team. The exit comes after City A.M. revealed last week that Brevan Howard’s chief operating officer had resigned and the fund was considering headcount reductions in New York and Israel. Michael Lublinsky will start [...]
Brighton’s brilliant beancounter: 20 years on, how a lifelong fan saved the Seagulls from extinction August 30, 2017 At 9pm on Christmas Eve 1996, Paul Samrah, a well-to-do partner at mid-tier accountancy firm Kingston Smith, sorted through the last of his mail in preparation for the festive break. “It was the last envelope I opened,” Samrah recalls to City A.M.. To his horror, he had been slapped with a two-year ban from Brighton [...]
BT’s Openreach checks £1.5bn Carillion deal July 17, 2017 Openreach, the infrastructure arm of BT, has launched a “forensic investigation” into its landmark £1.5bn contract with crisis-hit Carillion after the construction firm had over half its value wiped out in under a week. The telecoms giant is examining how Carillion’s troubles could affect the delivery of much-needed upgrades to Britain’s internet infrastructure, sources told City [...]
BT and Rolls-Royce investigations: Auditors are not there to find fraud, says accounting body boss July 13, 2017 Accounting investigations into audit sign-offs of two British stalwarts are not a sign the profession is in crisis, a senior figure at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said today. But Vernon Soare, the ICAEW’s chief operating officer, admitted there is an “expectation gap” over the role of the auditor. KPMG [...]
Hedge funds bag £80m on huge crash in construction giant Carillion’s share price July 11, 2017 A number of London hedge funds were celebrating yesterday after raking in tens of millions of pounds when shares in construction giant Carillion fell off a cliff. Carillion chief exec Richard Howson stepped down with immediate effect as the firm issued a severe warning over its profits, revealing that it had been forced to take [...]
Lloyds Bank completes £1.9bn MBNA credit card deal to “strengthen” position in the UK June 1, 2017 Lloyds Bank today completed its £1.9bn takeover of credit card firm MBNA from Bank of America. The deal to buy MBNA is the first transaction by Lloyds since the financial crisis. The last major transaction by Lloyds was its ill-fated purchase of HBOS in 2008. The UK government sold its final shareholding in Lloyds last [...]
