Entrepreneurs back Pitch@Palace as pressure grows on Prince Andrew November 21, 2019 Entrepreneurs have expressed their support for Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace startup initiative even as the Duke was urged to give evidence to US authorities. A lawyer representing some of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s victims has pushed for the Duke of York to speak with US investigators, following last night’s announcement that the prince will retreat from [...]
Prince Andrew steps back from Royal duties but will continue business role November 20, 2019 PRINCE Andrew last night said he will step back from Royal duties as corporate sponsors continued to sever ties with his entrepreneurship schemes following his widely criticised BBC interview. The announcement from the palace came hours after two more FTSE 100 companies abandoned the prince amid the fallout from his Newsnight grilling over links to [...]
Inmarsat and BT cut ties with Prince Andrew over Epstein friendship November 20, 2019 Inmarsat and BT have become the latest organisations to cut ties with the Duke of York in light of questions about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A source close to Inmarsat confirmed to City A.M. that the satellite company had withdrawn its sponsorship. In a statement, BT said that they would no [...]
Duke of York to step back from public duties November 20, 2019 Prince Andrew has announced that he will be stepping back from public duties for the “foreseeable future.” In a statement released this afternoon, the Duke said that “it has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to [...]
KPMG slashes headcount in transformation unit amid cost cutting drive November 20, 2019 KPMG is making redundancies in its in-house project management team as part of a campaign to slash millions of pounds in costs. KPMG told more than half of the staff in its transformation centre of expertise (TCE) this week that their jobs were at risk of redundancy, Sky News reported. The unit works across KPMG [...]
HSBC investment banking boss to lose role in shake-up November 20, 2019 HSBC’s investment banking boss is reportedly set to be replaced as part of a shake-up under interim chief executive Noel Quinn. The lender’s head of global banking and markets Samir Assaf is to be moved to a non-executive role, according to the FT. Read more: Softbank in talks over KPMG’s private members club Assaf has [...]
Three more companies ditch sponsorship of Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace scheme November 19, 2019 Three more companies said they would no longer support Prince Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, a day after KPMG jumped ship. International banking giant Standard Chartered was the first to pull the plug. A spokesman confirmed: “We won’t be renewing the sponsorship when it ends in February.” Read more: Corporate sponsors look to desert Prince Andrew’s [...]
John McDonnell says Labour will break up Big Four ‘cartel’ November 19, 2019 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell today promised to break up the “cartel” of the Big Four accounting firms if Labour wins the upcoming election. “Under Labour the Big Four companies will not be allowed to continue to act like a cartel,” McDonnell told a Westminster audience during a speech on Labour’s plans for the economy. The [...]
Softbank in talks to take over KPMG’s private members’ club November 19, 2019 Softbank is reportedly in talks to take over the KPMG’s controversial private members’ club in Mayfair, after regulators expressed concerns the auditor was giving memberships to its clients as perks. KPMG put the five-storey club, called Number Twenty, on the market in September as part of a cost-cutting drive but stepped up efforts to offload [...]
Corporate sponsors review links to Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace scheme after disastrous interview November 18, 2019 FIRMS are under scrutiny over their support for Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace initiative, as the fallout from the Duke of York’s weekend interview regarding his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues. Founding partner of the entrepreneurs’ mentoring scheme KPMG is said to have decided not to renew its sponsorship, which expired at the end of last month. It [...]