Asda needs to ‘dig down into its soul’ and recover sense of purpose, say analysts December 9, 2024 Asda needs to “dig down into its soul” and reshape its pitch to customers if it wants to tackle the rising threat from the likes of Aldi and Lidl following a rollercoaster 2024, analysts have warned. The Leeds-headquartered supermarket giant has not been far from the headlines all year amid debt struggles, strikes, falling sales [...]
London coaxes bankers back from political chaos in Europe December 8, 2024 Political chaos across Europe is pushing bankers to stay in London rather than follow through on plans to move to the continent. Following Brexit, many bankS began shifting certain roles across the channel, sometimes due to requests from European regulators, and sometimes to stay better connected to the continent. A senior banking source told the [...]
UK start-ups punch above their weight — and it’s being noticed worldwide December 5, 2024 Despite the “doom and gloom” narrative and post-Budget fears looming over the UK’s start-up ecosystem, the country still holds its ground at the forefront of global innovation. At least that is the view of Ashish Patel, managing director at Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Market Group, who says that a rise of international investment into UK start-ups [...]
Big Four UK: 900 redundancies and counting over 2024 December 5, 2024 Over 900 roles were made redundant at the UK Big Four firms over 2024, as the accountancy giants lit up the headlines for a second year running
Budget tax hikes send business confidence to two year low, survey shows December 4, 2024 S&P's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the services sector showed that business expectations for the year ahead were at their lowest level since December 2022.
How two ex-consultants plan to revolutionise UK consumer credit December 3, 2024 As financial services consultants at EY, Gerald Chappell and Michelle He noticed a weak spot shared by some of the world’s biggest banks: affordable personal loans. Up against ageing data-sharing systems, bureaucratic decision-making and a lack of business motivation to enter a market easily written off as “risky”, they set out to provide finance to [...]
EY to cut 150 UK consultants as division head steps down December 1, 2024 Big Four accountancy firm EY is set to cut 150 roles in its UK consultancy division and replace one of its most senior executives amid a slowdown in demand. Cuts in the 4,700-strong unit are expected to impact managers, senior managers and directors, it is understood, which are the highest-paid roles below partner level. Meanwhile, [...]
Hospitality firms are bracing for the return of inflation November 21, 2024 October’s inflation figure has worried hospitality firms. While it is not too far above target – 2.3 per cent versus the sweet spot of two per cent – and one month does not constitute a trend, it has exacerbated concerns companies already had about the future of their industry. There are two reasons hospitality is [...]
Typhoo Tea: Jobs at risk as historic brand nears collapse November 15, 2024 More than 100 jobs are at risk after it emerged that Typhoo Tea is on the verge of collapsing into administration. The Bristol-headquartered business, which can trace its roots back over a century, is lining up EY to oversee the process after filing a a notice of intention to appoint administrators. In an interview with [...]
How the accounting watchdog is looking to unleash the City November 11, 2024 As Richard Moriarty gripped the sides of a podium and spoke freely from a sheet of bullet points at the London Stock Exchange in September, a warmth was stirring among certain City executives in the room. The tie-less career regulator, boss of the audit watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council, laid out his plans to shake [...]