Four fintech lessons from Silicon Valley to London March 17, 2016 I had an eye-opening trip to San Francisco last week, as part of a UKTI mission to showcase the Best of British in fintech. While there, we were fortunate enough to meet with some of the most influential organisations on the West Coast, to educate them on the burgeoning fintech market here in the UK [...]
Budget 2016: Here are the reactions to Osborne’s announcements on sugar tax, corporation tax, Insurance Premium Tax, Isas, education and growth prospects March 16, 2016 George Osborne has just announced some Budget surprises – a sugar tax, longer school days – as well as an increase in sin taxes on tobacco, alterations to ISAs and savings, and corporation taxes. Here's what analysts are already saying about the chancellor's latest agenda on… Personal allowance David Kilshaw, private clients services partner, EY [...]
City Moves for 14 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 14, 2016 Accenture Professional services group Accenture has promoted Joydeep (Joy) Bhattacharya, pictured, to lead the Accenture Interactive business in the UK and Ireland. In addition to his new role, Joy will maintain his existing responsibilities as regional general manager for Fjord, Accenture’s design and innovation unit, in Europe, Africa and Latin America (EALA). With over 15 [...]
Budget 2016: Industry groups warn chancellor George Osborne against hiking insurance premium tax as EY Item Club urges against planned £4bn in spending cuts March 14, 2016 Leading industry groups are pleading with the Treasury to give British businesses a break at this week’s Budget, as chancellor George Osborne eyes up a major tax hike on insurance premiums and higher tax revenues from Britain’s biggest banks. The AA warned over the weekend that the chancellor is considering raising the basic rate of [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne considering raising 40p threshold and slashing top rate from 45p to 40p March 6, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne could hand middle and higher income earners a big tax break next week by increasing the threshold for paying the higher rate of tax. Osborne is reportedly considering increasing the amount people have to earn before they start paying the higher 40p tax rate to £43,000 from the current threshold of £42,385 [...]
City Moves for 3 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 3, 2016 Watson Day Chartered surveyor firm Watson Day has appointed Richard Turnill as a partner. He joins partners Nick Threlfall, Ian Gutteridge, Julian Scannell and Kevin Dempster, who founded Watson Day in 1989. Richard qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2007, following a graduate position at Cluttons. In 2009 Richard joined Glenny’s south east London and [...]
Accountants at PwC and EY set aside their differences to play on a giant bouncy castle next to their office buildings March 2, 2016 It's well known in the City that the big four audit firms are notoriously competitive. When PwC moved to its current premises at More London by Tower Hill, the firm installed automatic shutters in its windows to prevent neighbours at EY's headquarters from spying. But accountants and analysts took it to another level last night [...]
Standard Life is worried about how Royal Dutch Shell and Volkswagen are being run, promises to escalate its engagement with management as investor bullish on Shell’s dividend outlook March 2, 2016 Fund manager Standard Life Investments has warned Volkswagen and Royal Dutch Shell that it is planning on stepping up its engagement with management over concerns about the companies corporate governance. Writing in its annual governance and stewardship report the investment vehicle said the VW emissions cheating scandal has caused it to be worried about a lack of independence on the German car maker's supervisory [...]
London risks taking its global status for granted if housing crisis carries on unabated and cost of living continues to rise March 2, 2016 It's awards season, and from the Oscars to the Grammys gongs are being handed out left, right and centre. It’s an opportune time, therefore, to reflect on the accolades bestowed recently on our capital city. London cleaned up last year, taking the top spot in a clutch of surveys including EY’s European Attractiveness Survey, MasterCard’s [...]
House purchase approvals hit two-year high as buy to let investors rush to beat April’s stamp duty change February 29, 2016 Mortgage lending picked up in January as buy to let investors rush to buy properties before a hike in stamp duty in April. Net mortgage lending rose to £3.7bn in January from £3.2bn in December, according to figures published by the Bank of England this morning. There were 128,709 mortgages approved. Approvals for house purchase, as opposed to [...]