UK tech sector growth falls to two-year low, dragged by election jitters and Eurozone woes August 18, 2015 The UK’s tech sector growth fell to a two-year low, with activity slowing in the second quarter dragged by election jitters and Eurozone woes. Tech has been booming lately, and the latest figures mark three years of sustained business activity growth in the sector. But expansion is at its weakest pace since early 2013, according [...]
Ignoring A-Level results is not the best way to build a truly diverse workforce August 12, 2015 Today's A-Level results are a welcome release of tension for students, as many begin to contemplate university and their career paths. But are first-rate grades and university degrees still top of the wish list for businesses? A recent poll by KPMG revealed that 80 per cent of UK adults believe that success is driven by [...]
Grocers’ price wars weigh on July retail sales August 11, 2015 RETAIL sales slowed in July from the previous month’s two-year high as the fierce supermarket price wars continued to weigh on the sector. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG this morning show that like-for-like UK retail sales were up 1.2 per cent in July compared with the same month last year, when [...]
KPMG: Barcelona can reach €1bn turnover by 2021 August 7, 2015 Ahead of his successful re-election last month, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed his ambitious plans to make the European champions the first football club to generate €1bn in turnover by the 2021 season. Read more: Barcelona forecast €600m income from treble-winning season Yet according to KPMG's football advisory arm, such a statement wasn't just an [...]
New car registrations climb in July for 41st month in a row August 6, 2015 UK car sales grew for a 41st consecutive month in July, new data shows, but market analysts expect the purchases to decelerate toward the end of the year. UK firms and consumers bought 178,420 new cars in July, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It is 3.2 per cent more [...]
World Economic Forum Tech Pioneers: Transferwise and Mike Lynch’s Darktrace among four UK firms chosen August 5, 2015 Four UK companies have been named among the most pioneering tech companies in the world by the World Economic Forum (WEF), following in the footsteps of Google and Twitter. Billion-dollar FinTech startup Transferwise and Mike Lynch's cybersecurity startup Darktrace are two of the high-profile UK companies selected by a panel of judges identifying the startups [...]
Insurgents Allenby Capital and Beaufort Securities lead charge up Aim broker rankings August 2, 2015 Two small stockbroking firms have zipped up the Aim adviser rankings after winning more than a dozen new clients in the last three months. Allenby Capital and Beaufort Securities were the standout performers from the quarterly ranking of junior stock market listed brokers, according to a study out today. Allenby gained six new [...]
Can we please just stop putting pop-up beaches everywhere? July 31, 2015 WHEN will this trend of making pop-up beaches in office courtyards end? This summer has seen beaches inexplicably appearing all over London’s financial districts, from Canary Wharf’s beach volleyball to Finsbury Park’s beach rugby today. Now even office estates out in the sticks are catching on. What have you done!? West London’s Chiswick Park is [...]
City Moves for 29 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 28, 2015 KPMG Craig Steven-Jennings has been appointed partner in the professional services firm’s enterprise practice. He joins from KPMG’s South African firm and will be based in London. Steven-Jennings first joined its Cape Town office in 1999 and became an audit partner in 2005. Tokio Marine Kiln The insurance provider has promoted Paul Culham to the [...]
Disruption is the main concern that keeps chief executives awake at night – although global confidence is returning July 20, 2015 What with Uber, Airbnb and their ilk wreaking havoc in their respective industries, you can't help but sympathise: a new study has shown the main worry keeping chief executives awake at night is the prospect of disruption in their industry. According to the Global CEO Outlook Study, by accounting giant KPMG, 74 per cent of chief [...]