Mike Ashley and Philip Day in battle to buy Jack Wills August 3, 2019 High street giants Mike Ashley and Philip Day are embroiled in a battle to takeover Jack Wills, which is on the brink of administration. The billionaires’ companies, Sports Direct and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, are the two remaining bidders for the fashion chain, according to Sky News. Read more: Majestic Wine sells brand and stores for [...]
KPMG appointed administrators as Laterooms and Superbreak collapse affecting thousands of holiday-goers August 2, 2019 KPMG has been appointed as administrators to Laterooms and Superbreak following the companies collapses on Thursday. Both firms are owned by the Malvern Group, which has ceased trading, after Cox & Kings India, which owned a 49 per cent stake in the company, defaulted on loan repayments. Read more: Pets at Home set to beat [...]
The City is a meritocracy, but that only works if everyone’s given a go August 2, 2019 Sajid Javid has been culture secretary, business secretary, home secretary and now chancellor. In all that time I’ve only ever heard him give one great speech. It was, as luck would have it, at the 2015 City A.M. Awards. In Westminster and on matters of policy and politics, Javid’s delivery is invariably uninspiring – even [...]
Losses widen at Seedrs as deal sizes continue to grow August 2, 2019 Equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs has reported a record operating loss as it focuses on expansion, but saw a significant increase in average deal size over the past year. 2018 saw Seedrs’ net operating losses climb to £4.33m, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year. This marks a return to increasing losses after the [...]
Laterooms collapses after failure to sell business August 1, 2019 Holiday bookings site Laterooms has collapsed into insolvency after its parent company Malvern Group ran out of cash before it could secure a sale. Last month Malvern appointed KPMG to undertake an accelerated sales process after Cox & Kings India, which owned a 49 per cent stake in Malvern, defaulted on loan repayments. The default [...]
KPMG fined £3.5m for BNY Mellon report misconduct August 1, 2019 Big Four firm KPMG has been fined £3.5m and one of its directors £52,000 for misconduct related to a client asset report for Bank of New York Mellon in 2011. Watchdog the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) levied a fine of £5m against KPMG which was discounted by 30 per cent for admissions of misconduct. It [...]
Former Baker McKenzie London head Gary Senior to face prosecution for alleged sexual harassment July 30, 2019 The former head of global legal giant Baker McKenzie’s London office is facing prosecution for alleged sexual harassment, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said today. Gary Senior, who left the firm last year, has been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) to face allegations he “behaved in an inappropriate manner towards Person A”. In [...]
Patisserie Valerie appoints administrators for Grant Thornton probe July 26, 2019 Patisserie Valerie’s creditors have appointed new administrators to probe the cafe chain’s auditor Grant Thornton. FRP Advisory will take over from KPMG after the financial services firm said it could not investigate Grant Thornton due to a conflict of interest. Grant Thornton audits KPMG’s accounts. Read more: Patisserie Valerie overstated financial position by £94m The [...]
UK retail industry battles ‘toughest ever’ trading conditions July 22, 2019 The health of the UK retail industry is on the brink of falling to record lows as shops battle some of the “toughest trading conditions they’ve ever experienced”. The Retail Health Index, which takes into account consumer demand, gross margins and costs, fell from 77 to 76 in the second quarter, financial services firm KPMG [...]
Fewer firms are going bust despite high profile collapses July 22, 2019 Fewer companies went bust in England and Wales in the second quarter than in the first three months of 2019, according to professional services firm KPMG, despite a handful of high profile business collapses. Read more: Jamie’s Italian to slim down with restaurant closures The number of firms going into administration fell by 14 per [...]