Cost of hiring graduates shot up after Reeves’ tax raids February 4, 2026 The cost of hiring graduates and other young Brits in entry-level roles increased by seven per cent in real terms after Chancellor Rachel Reeves hiked employers’ national insurance and raised the national living wage, economists have found. A new set of forecasts and analysis by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has [...]
GDP set to soften in 2026 as tax hikes bite February 2, 2026 The UK is set for another year of soggy growth, according to new forecasts from EY, with the government’s tax hikes and ongoing worries about a global trade war hamstringing momentum. The Big Four firm predicted that GDP would rise 0.9 per cent in 2026, slower than the 1.4 per cent recorded last year, as [...]
EY avoids judgment in £2bn case as Alvarez & Marsal reach ‘confidential agreement’ February 2, 2026 The mammoth legal fight against the Big Four giant EY over its auditing of a former London-listed health giant that collapsed amid fraud allegations has been withdrawn following a settlement. Private hospital operator NMC Health Plc collapsed in April 2020 after being placed into administration, and was delisted from the London Stock Exchange in the [...]
Hundreds of Treasury jobs at risk in civil servant cost-cutting shakeup February 2, 2026 Rachel Reeves wants to slash about 300 of her department’s roughly 2,100 staff by 2030, as HM Treasury plans to offer officials up to £100,000 to take voluntary leave.The proposed cuts to the Treasury are part of a wider drive to reduce Whitehall’s administrative costs by 16 per cent, according to the Financial Times. The [...]
How seriously should we take Anthropic founder’s ‘civilisational threat’ essay? January 29, 2026 “Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it’s deeply unclear whether we can handle it” – that’s the warning from one of the most powerful men in artificial intelligence – so, is he right? If you don’t have plans for the weekend you could do worse than to sit down and read [...]
KPMG posts strong revenue growth in first UK-Swiss results January 28, 2026 Big Four giant KPMG has reported revenue of £3.6bn for its year ended 30 September 2025, in its first year of results since the combination of its UK and Swiss businesses. These are the firm’s first results following the merger of the UK and Swiss businesses on 1 October 2024, which showed revenue rose to [...]
Bill Thomas’ successor: KPMG top job up for grabs amidst sector transformation January 27, 2026 The Big Four giant KPMG’s election for the next global chair and CEO is currently underway, as big names across the firm vie to succeed Bill Thomas. Thomas has held the leadership position since October 2017, but his term is expected to conclude on 30 September. KPMG International is now launching a process to elect [...]
Loveholidays eyes £1bn London IPO as soon as March January 27, 2026 London’s public markets could be set for a blockbuster £1bn spring listing from one of Britain’s largest online travel agents, giving the bourse welcome momentum in the new year after a strong end to 2025. Loveholidays’ private equity owners, Livingbridge, has reportedly added Investec to its roster of banks preparing to launch a listing. According [...]
Profit warnings citing global upheaval hit ‘record high’ January 27, 2026 The proportion of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies where bosses complain about policy uncertainty and geopolitics reached a record high last year, fresh analysis has shown. New data by EY has shown that 240 firms warned investors that profits would fall short of market expectations. Though this was the lowest figure since 2021 – [...]
2026 could be crisis year for UK’s graduate workforce January 20, 2026 This year could become a graduate abyss for the UK job market if AI skill shortages are not tackled, writes Rod Flavell.