Government paying test and trace consultants equivalent of £1.5m salary October 14, 2020 The UK government is paying some management consultants the equivalent of more than a million pounds a year to work on the coronavirus test and trace system that its own scientists have criticised. Some senior-ranking consultants at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) are being paid around £7,000 a day, Sky News reported. That would amount to [...]
Snakes and Ladders: Who is moving jobs in the City this week? October 14, 2020 Snakes and Ladders provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Despite the unnatural quiet that has replaced the fast-paced bustle of the Square Mile over the last few months, behind the scenes things are still moving. While the pandemic has [...]
BDO becomes largest auditor of listed UK firms October 13, 2020 Challenger firm BDO now audits the highest number of listed UK companies as attempts to reform the sector sees companies move away from the Big Four. BDO, the UK’s fifth-largest accounting firm by revenue, gained 36 listed clients in the 12 months to October, according to Adviser Rankings, which collects auditor data. It now audits [...]
City to shift €150bn of UK assets into France ahead of Brexit October 13, 2020 Firms have begun shifting around €150bn (€135bn) of UK assets from the City into France ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline, according to the governor of the Bank of France. Francois Villeroy de Galhau told the Europlace International Financial Forum that the Bank of France has authorised asset shifts by 32 companies — mostly [...]
Get ahead with a NED? How non-executive directors have evolved October 9, 2020 ‘You cannot rely on others to seek you out – you must put in a concerted effort to obtaining a directorship. So network, wear out the shoe leather and be prepared to drink a lot of coffee’: so advises a guide for senior professionals seeking to become a non-executive director (NED). Spencer Stuart, the executive search and [...]
Coronavirus recovery stalls as UK economy grows just 2.1 per cent in August October 9, 2020 The UK economy grew at just 2.1 per cent in August as the country’s economic recovery showed signs of stalling. Although the figure marked the fourth straight month of growth, it was considerably lower than had been expected. As a result, GDP remains 9.2 per cent lower than it was before the pandemic struck in [...]
More than 1,000 Deloitte consultants working on Test and Trace programme October 8, 2020 More than a thousand Deloitte consultants are reportedly working on the NHS Test and Trace programme, further highlighting the government’s reliance on the private sector through the pandemic. Department of Health documents released under a Freedom of Information request by Sky News reveal there are currently 1,114 consultants working on the scheme, equivalent to the [...]
UK house prices jump again in September as market defies gravity October 7, 2020 UK house prices rose at the fastest pace in four years in September despite the raging coronavirus pandemic as people working from home sought more space, according to the Halifax house price index. Yet the lender said it is “unlikely” that the British housing market will “remain immune” to the historic economic slowdown. House prices [...]
City urges government to rip up ‘fundamentally unfair’ immigration system October 6, 2020 The City of London Corporation has urged the government to shake up its “fundamentally unfair” immigration system to boost the UK economy’s post-pandemic recovery ahead of the Brexit transition period deadline. In a report released today in collaboration with EY, the City body called on the Home Office to “rip up the red tape” and [...]
Worst September on record for new car registrations October 5, 2020 New car registration fell to their lowest level since records began in September in a further blow for the battered auto industry. Just 328,041 cars were registered last month, down 4.4 per cent lower year-on-year, new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed. That’s the weakest performance since the introduction of [...]