KPMG called to fire engine firm November 13, 2012 THE COMPANY that maintains London’s fleet of fire engines called in KPMG as administrators yesterday. Premier FireServe, formerly a subsidiary of AssetCo, has faced mounting losses, and sold the fleet earlier this year. The London Fire Brigade appointed services company Babcock International to look after its fleet after what it called “a deterioration of the [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 8, 2012 Houlihan Lokey Sascha Kroissenbrunner has been appointed director in the investment bank’s industrials group. He joins from UniCredit Group in Vienna, where he was managing director and head of the general industrials group for central and eastern Europe. He has also held senior positions at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London and Frankfurt. State [...]
BDO and PKF in talks for audit merger deal November 7, 2012 BDO and PKF are in advanced talks to merge their UK operations, the accountancy and advisory firms revealed yesterday. A tie-up, which is expected to take place early next year, would give the group extra firepower to compete with Grant Thornton for mid-market audit and business advisory clients. The firms said the enlarged company would [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 7, 2012 Deloitte Michael Lee has been appointed director of Deloitte’s analytics practice. He joins from Detica NetReveal, and is a specialist in using analytics to detect and prevent fraud and financial crime. HSBC Andy Clark has been appointed chief executive at HSBC’s UK asset management branch. He has worked for the bank since 2005, most recently [...]
MPs told new banks are not short-term fix November 6, 2012 THE GROWTH of challenger banks is not a solution to the current shortage of lending to small firms, City grandee John Griffith-Jones said yesterday, arguing that only unblocking lending from big banks can help in the short run. The former KPMG boss and incoming chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority also told MPs that banks [...]
UK retail sales fizzle out after spending falls November 5, 2012 SIGNS of improved spending on the high street have proved to be something of a damp squib after retail sales in October slowed to their lowest growth in 11 months. Following strong sales the previous month, like-for-like retail sales fell 0.1 per cent in October compared with the same time last year, the British Retail [...]
Manufacturers say trading is getting worse November 1, 2012 DISMAL trading for British manufacturers kept the sector’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) firmly in negative territory in October, with the gloomy conditions reflected across the world. Just a week after the UK economy was shown to have grown one per cent in the quarter to the end of September, Markit and CIPS’ PMI reading for [...]
Barclays mulls an investment bank salary cut October 29, 2012 INVESTMENT bankers are set to take another blow as Barclays considers cutting their basic salaries, joining the industry-wide flood of firms reducing pay and headcount levels. And recruitment specialists say any Barclays staff affected will have no choice but to grit their teeth and bear it, as they have few options elsewhere in the sector. [...]
London looks to Africa to bolster flotation activity October 25, 2012 With all the nervousness about governance issues at Russian companies wishing to list their shares in London, and with Nat Rothschild’s London-listed Indonesian venture Bumi seemingly ending in tears, now is perhaps not the best time for the London Stock Exchange to be hosting a conference about the opportunities in Africa for investors. In theory [...]
Murder most mysterious in the Guildhall’s library October 25, 2012 GUESTS at The Game quiz evening, held in aid of St John’s Ambulance, were happily wining and dining in the Guildhall’s Great Hall on Wednesday when their supper was disturbed by a mysterious murder in the library. Donning forensic suits, teams from firms including KPMG, Investec, Hogan Lovells and Ernst & Young boldly set out [...]