Start using technology and don’t be afraid to scrap traditional engagement surveys September 14, 2016 Employee engagement is a popular topic for businesses today because of the links between it and better performance. But recent research shows that, while 90 per cent of global organisations go to the trouble of carrying out employee engagement surveys, only 7 per cent rate themselves as excellent at measuring and improving engagement and retention. [...]
City Moves for 12 September | Who’s switching jobs September 12, 2016 UHY Hacker Young UHY Hacker Young has appointed Martin Jones as a new partner in its London audit and assurance team. Martin joins from Ecovis Wingrave Yeats, where he was a partner in the audit team. He brings over 30 years of experience providing audit, financial reporting, outsourcing and advisory services to firms of all sizes, across a range [...]
Retail sales sunk back in August in a “U-turn” of fortunes for the sector September 6, 2016 Retail sales slowed in August, representing a "U-turn in retail fortunes" compared to figures from July. Overall sales fell by 0.3 per cent – the biggest month-on-month decline since September 2014, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Like-for-like sales were down 0.9 per cent as compared to August last year; on [...]
City Moves for 23 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 23, 2016 Alpha FMC Alpha, the asset management consultancy, has appointed Adrian Keen as chief financial officer. Adrian will work with the senior team to oversee all financial operations of the group. Adrian brings broad experience with him to Alpha. A chartered accountant, Adrian worked in the audit function at KPMG before pursuing roles in industry, in sectors as diverse as software, [...]
Startups in London raised more funding than in any other European city this year August 22, 2016 Forget Brexit fears: London's startup community is alive and well, new research has suggested – with startups in the capital receiving more investment in the first half of this year than in any other European city. This chart, put together for City A.M. by Statista using figures from EY's Startup Barometer Germany report, shows London startups received €1.3bn (£1.1bn) [...]
JD Sports plans takeover of rival retailer Go Outdoors as Sports Direct flounders August 21, 2016 High street retailer JD Sports Fashion is exploring a takeover of Go Outdoors in a bid to expand its dominance in fitness clothing. According to Sky News, JD Sports is one of several bidders looking to make an offer for Go Outdoors, which is being sold in an auction run by KPMG. JD Sports – which [...]
UK fintech funding has fallen – but don’t panic just yet August 18, 2016 Cash being ploughed into the UK's fintech startups fell in the latest quarter – but don't panic just yet. The value of funding declined by 12 per cent to $103m (£78.4m) in the second quarter of the year, however, the number of deals being done in one of the hottest sectors remained steady, the latest figures from KPMG and CB Insights [...]
Sterling soars as UK inflation hits 20-month high after Brexit vote August 16, 2016 The pound has jumped this morning after figures showed prices in the UK are rising at their fastest rate since the end of 2014. Inflation came in at 0.6 per cent in July on the consumer prices index (CPI), ahead of expectations and up from a rate of 0.5 per cent in June. Sterling charged [...]
Workers might be prepared to compromise when buying a house but most are not prepared to compromise on their next job August 16, 2016 Workers are getting increasingly picky when hunting for new jobs with over three-quarters not prepared to make key compromises on their next role. The data compiled by online recruitment website CV Library also revealed that one in ten of those surveyed said that a long recruitment process would put them off a role. "Some organisations are recognising [...]
Will Mark Carney’s corporate bond-buying help UK companies? August 11, 2016 Companies across the UK are bracing themselves for a shake-up to the way they raise cash on the corporate finance market as the Bank of England prepares to start buying private sector debt. Threadneedle Street will buy around £10bn of top-quality corporate bonds as part of its mission to help the UK avoid a recession [...]