Alexon rescued after pre-pack deal with Sun Capital gets the go-ahead September 29, 2011 FASHION retailer Alexon has become the latest casualty of the economic downturn, going into administration before being sold to private equity firm, Sun Capital Partners. The so called pre-pack administration with KPMG, which secures continuing employment for Alexon’s staff of about 2,700, was agreed yesterday after the firm failed to secure additional funding, leaving it [...]
UK’s 50p top rate slammed September 28, 2011 ONLY three other European Union states have a higher top rate of income tax than the UK, consultancy group KPMG said today. Outside the EU, just Japan and the small Caribbean island of Aruba have a higher top rate than the UK, out of 96 countries surveyed by the group. Western Europe remains the region [...]
EU tables Tobin tax plans September 28, 2011 The European executive has formally tabled plans for a union-wide tax on financial transactions to come into force from 2014. The European Commission has proposed the 0.1 per cent “Tobin Tax” on all stock and bond trades, and an 0.01 per cent levy on derivatives trades, to raise a projected €57bn (£49.5bn) per year. The [...]
Brussels wages war on big four September 26, 2011 RADICAL plans to force the UK’s biggest auditing firms to hive off their huge consultancy arms or ban them from cross-selling services to their clients have been tabled by European authorities, it emerged yesterday. The European Commission has set out new draft regulations to drastically curb the UK’s Big Four accountants Ernst & Young, PwC, [...]
Deloitte gets a boost from high revenues September 22, 2011 DELOITTE, the world’s largest accounting and consulting firm, said global revenue rose the most in three years in the 2011 fiscal year, helped by double-digit gains in advisory and consulting work. Deloitte’s member firms worldwide reported a record $28.8bn (£18.8bn) in revenue, up 8.4 per cent from 2010. In local currency terms, not accounting for [...]
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES | OF THE YEAR September 21, 2011 IAIN EVANS L.E.K. CONSULTING L.E.K. is a “wonderful British success story”, said the judges – it now competes with McKinsey, Bain and BCG from a standing start in 1983, over-delivering for its growing roster of private equity clients. SHORTLIST KPMG Ernst & Young Deloitte PwC
MEET THE JUDGES September 21, 2011 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. Allister joined City A.M. as editor in early 2008. He chaired our panel of judges. SIR MARTIN SORRELL WPP Sir Martin is the co-founder and chief executive of WPP, the world’s largest communications company. SIMON MACKENZIE-SMITH BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH Simon is chairman of UK & Ireland corporate and [...]
China loses competitive edge as its wages climb September 16, 2011 LOW WAGES may have been the foundation of China’s economic boom, but its competitive advantage in the space is disappearing, according to a report from KPMG out yesterday. Other south and south-east Asian countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia are now significantly cheaper locations for manufacturing activities. After years of high growth, wages have increased – [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 13, 2011 AFC Energy The fuel cells developer has appointed Ian Williamson as chief executive and a director of the company, effective from 14 November. Williamson, who will be granted an option of one million ordinary shares when he joins the board, joins AFC Energy from Air Products, where he was most recently hydrogen and bio energy [...]
Delay banking reforms: BCC September 11, 2011 A LEADING business organisation has urged the government to prioritise growth over regulatory reform ahead of today’s publication of the final report from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) John Longworth, the new director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said he accepted the “need to ensure our banking system is robust” but [...]