Making a meal of it: EAT could close portion of 100-strong portfolio as competition bites February 6, 2018 High street sandwich shop EAT has become the latest food chain to consider closing a raft of stores. The 100-strong chain is looking at restructuring ts portfolio, with a possible company voluntary arrangement (CVA) on the table, according to Sky News. It follows the likes of Byron and Jamie’s Italian, which have both been forced [...]
Capita shares sink as government insists contractor is not another Carillion January 31, 2018 More than £1.1bn was wiped off Capita’s stock market valuation today after the FTSE 100 firm ditched its dividend amid profit fears. Capita announced a major operational shake-up and has plans in place for a mammoth £700m rights issue. Shares plummeted almost 50 per cent, with Carillon’s failure fresh in investors’ memories. A Cabinet Office [...]
Carillion collapse poses big questions for investors, Jes Staley’s FCA delay goes on and The Range floats chairs January 26, 2018 When in doubt, blame the accountants: a mantra which has gathered momentum after virtually every big corporate collapse since the financial crisis. Carillion is no exception. It seems obvious to ask now why KPMG signed off the construction group’s accounts in March without the merest hint of anxiety. Hindsight being a wonderful thing, the wafer-thin [...]
London ranked among top cities “fully open for business” on LGBT+ inclusivity and competitiveness January 24, 2018 London has been ranked among the top cities crowned “fully open for business” in a new study assessing which places across the globe demonstrate the highest levels of inclusion and economic competitiveness. A coalition of 25 global firms, including Deutsche Bank, KPMG and Accenture, released the Open for Business report today to reflect that LGBT+ [...]
MPs haul Carillion directors in for grilling over firm’s collapse January 24, 2018 Two of the Commons’ most powerful committees have ordered former Carillion directors – including ex-chairman Philip Green – to give evidence as part of a joint inquiry into the construction giant’s collapse. The Work and Pensions Committee, headed by Labour’s Frank Field, and the BEIS Committee, headed by his colleague Rachel Reeves, have launched a [...]
DEBATE: A decade on from the crash, has the financial services sector done enough to restore trust? January 24, 2018 A decade on from the crash, has the financial services sector done enough to restore trust? Lisa Fernihough, a partner in the KPMG financial services team, says YES. The sector has made significant progress in improving culture, holding individuals to account and building products that have the end customers’ interest at heart. Firms know they [...]
McKinsey, SAP and KPMG accused of criminal conduct by South Africa’s companies regulator CIPC over ties with the Gupta family January 17, 2018 Consultancy firm McKinsey, software group SAP and accountancy business KPMG have been accused of criminal conduct by South Africa’s companies regulator, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). The move comes as the South African authorities are cracking down on businesses with ties to the controversial Gupta family. The Guptas, friends of the president Jacob [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) nets £150m in sale of Lombard asset finance unit to Investec and Shawbrook January 3, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold the offshore operations of its asset finance lender Lombard to Investec and Shawbrook. RBS will net around £150m from selling off its Channel Islands operations of the lender, which was founded in 1861. Investec and Shawbrook will split the Jersey and Guernsey assets division between them, although the [...]
RBS nets £150m in sale of Lombard asset finance unit to Investec and Shawbrook January 3, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold the offshore operations of its asset finance lender Lombard to Investec and Shawbrook. RBS will net around £150m from selling off its Channel Islands operations of the lender, which was founded in 1861. Investec and Shawbrook will split the Jersey and Guernsey assets division between them, although the [...]
Increasing prices will hurt the retail sector in 2018, according to this think tank December 28, 2017 The retail sector will “flatline at best” next year, according to predictions issued by the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT). The group made its lacklustre forecast based on a combination of “continued headwinds in the form of geopolitical and macroeconomic obstacles; an increased number of regulatory compliance issues and ongoing structural change within the industry”. [...]