Construction companies ‘treading water’ as insolvency rate reaches highest level in a decade August 24, 2023 UK construction companies are going bankrupt at a faster rate than at any point in the last decade.
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on falling house prices, global travel’s acceleration and Netflix’s Sackler drama August 22, 2023 Today, Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, takes the City A.M. notebook pen The only thing being built is negative momentum Rising interest rates, high inflation and the cost of living crisis are starting to take a serious toll on the UK housing market. Just this week, data from Rightmove pointed to a [...]
HomeServe founder pours £110m in crusade to revive flailing British high street August 20, 2023 HomeServe founder Richard Harpin is injecting £110m of his own cash into medium-sized businesses, aiming to breathe life back into the UK’s beleaguered high streets. After cashing in on the sale of insurance company HomeServe to Brookfield last year for a cool £4.1bn, the home repairs mogul Harpin said he is trying to “help others [...]
No Degree? The Good News Is Skills-Based Hiring Is On The Rise August 17, 2023 While you might think education or experience are what hiring managers focus on when recruiting new candidates, skills and ability are more important. That’s according to a recent global study which found that 76% of employers are now using skills-based hiring to pinpoint talent. The reason for this is manifold: 91.2% of employers saw an [...]
British firms face ‘debanking’ for trading with Ukraine, business leaders warn August 16, 2023 UK businesses reportedly face being ‘debanked’ over trading relationships with Ukraine, business leaders have warned. Firms are increasingly “afraid to trade with Ukraine from the UK” due to the risk of having their accounts forcibly closed by overly risk-averse financial institutions, it has been claimed. According to Politico, both the British-Ukrainian Business Council (BUBC) and [...]
‘Meet Wuxi in London: New Development, New Cooperation’ Investment Briefing and Exchange Conference Held August 11, 2023 The Wuxi (London) Investment Promotion Conference took place in London on the 9th, where representatives from various sectors in China and the UK gathered to discuss cooperative opportunities and witness the signing of multiple significant projects. Concurrently, the exhibition themed “Encounter Wuxi” was inaugurated in London, running for a duration of five days. In her [...]
UK firms see audit costs climb as fines and skills shortage push up auditors fees August 7, 2023 The total amount in audit fees paid by the UK’s largest 500 companies has risen by 14 per cent in the past year, according to new data. The value of audit fees paid by these firms rose from £1.12bn to £1.27bn for the 2021/22 financial year, according to new research by Thomson Reuters. It said [...]
UK audit watchdog picks former aviation regulator as new chief July 31, 2023 Richard Moriarty has been appointed chief executive of the audit regulator, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), as it undergoes major reforms. Moriarty, who most recently served as chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority for five years, will take up his role at the beginning of October. Sarah Rapson will take the role of acting [...]
Better Business: Impact Governance July 25, 2023 7 essentials for governing a purpose-driven business Your corporate purpose is your compass, guiding your profitability and your business’ wider impact on the world. In defining what corporate purpose should be, there’s clear momentum towards stakeholder capitalism in the UK, with initiatives like the B Corp movement and the Better Business Act bringing corporate purpose [...]
Utilita boss: We’ve got ‘no faith’ in Ofgem’s ability to manage the market July 25, 2023 The price cap is still "the biggest single risk to supplier profitability," warned Utilita boss Bill Bullen, as he called for more household support.