Balfour Beatty issues £70m warning on UK construction profits and cancels £200m share buyback January 22, 2015 Balfour Beatty has warned profits at its UK construction arm will take a £70m hit after a review of its business by KPMG found it had made “optimistic assumptions” about the cost and risk of contracts. The widespread review of the construction group’s business was initiated in September after it made its fifth profit warning [...]
Tax competition is good for Europe: Don’t let Jean-Claude Juncker muddy the waters January 21, 2015 At the end of last week, the European Commission disclosed a preliminary finding that Amazon’s tax arrangements in Luxembourg could have constituted “state aid”. While Amazon has said that it had received no special treatment, this is not good news for the Duchy’s former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, now president of the Commission. Yet the [...]
Alpari shareholder Andrey Dashin:”I tried to wind it up a year ago” January 21, 2015 Another chapter in the increasingly dramatic administration of spreadbetter Alpari, after its largest shareholder went on the record to explain that he tried to wind it up a year ago because he was worried about its lack of financing. Andrey Dashin told industry site Forex Magnates that its current situation is "a natural consequence of [...]
Alpari in administration: 170 jobs at risk at spreadbetter January 19, 2015 Spreadbetting platform Alpari called in administrators from KPMG yesterday after it made huge losses in the wake of the Swiss franc’s shock appreciation last week. Its Bishopsgate office was in lockdown as bosses scrambled to find a buyer to rescue the business. But despite interest from firms thought to include IG Group and Australian firm [...]
Swiss franc crisis: Alpari appoints administrator KPMG January 19, 2015 West Ham shirt sponsor Alpari said it has appointed big four accountant KPMG as its special administrator. Alpari went into insolvency last week after the Swiss National's Bank's (SNB) shock removal of its currency ceiling, which sent the Swiss franc soaring as much as 40 per cent. The ensuing currency market chaos led to "extreme [...]
City Moves for 19 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 18, 2015 BirthStar Target Date Funds The solutions provider for asset managers and intermediary firms has announced two appointments. Tony Hicks joins as head of business development from Aberdeen Asset Management. He has also held roles at Scottish Life and Gartmore Fund Managers. Rachael Harris (pictured) joins as head of key accounts from Just Retirement, where she [...]
City Moves for 15 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 14, 2015 Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has appointed Allen Appen as head of financial institutions capital and asset backed solutions. He joins from Barclays, where he was most recently head of financial institutions capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Mole Valley Asset Management The investment management firm has appointed Andrew Holder as [...]
High street suffers Black Friday hangover as retail sales drop January 12, 2015 RETAILERS were hit by a slowdown in sales over Christmas after the Black Friday shopping bonanza pulled forward holiday spending into November. Like-for-like sales dropped by 0.4 per cent compared to the same month a year ago, according to the latest data from KPMG and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Total sales were up one [...]
EU referendum greater risk to London’s property market than General Election uncertainty, says KPMG January 12, 2015 A referendum on Britain's EU membership could herald bad news for London's high-flying property market, new research has found. David Cameron has promised to renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU and put the result to the people by 2017. But if Brits vote to leave, the capital's property market could suffer in the aftermath, big [...]
City Moves for 12 January 2015 | Who’s switching jobs January 11, 2015 PwC Legal The professional services firm’s legal division has announced the appointment of Mick Gorrill. He is a data protection practitioner and, as assistant information commissioner at the Information Commissioner’s Office, he oversaw the introduction of data protection fines into law. RBC Wealth Management The wealth manager has announced the appointment of Antony Johnson as [...]