Charities get taxation boost March 23, 2011 CHANGES to inheritance tax rules in yesterday’s Budget means that those leaving 10 per cent or more of their estate to charity will now also get a 10 per cent tax relief on their donations. Charities welcomed the move, but accountancy firm KPMG called the 10 per cent target for donations “ambitious”, and said the [...]
UK to probe bank covenants favouring big auditors March 23, 2011 The government has asked regulators to investigate whether banks help to entrench the “Big Four” auditing firms’ dominance through restrictive lending agreements with companies. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget included a call to the Office of Fair Trading to probe whether bank covenants lock out smaller auditors. The Financial Reporting Council had expressed concern to lawmakers [...]
Google and BRC in web plan March 22, 2011 THE British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Google are tomorrow set to reveal plans for a new quarterly report which will monitor online retail sales. John Gillan, Google’s senior industry retail head, will unveil the BRC – Google Online Retail Monitor (ORM) tomorrow. The ORM will measure traffic for the part of the retail sector operating [...]
UK firms optimistic over growth March 21, 2011 Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of firms report that they can grow despite the government’s austerity measures, a survey for consultants KPMG revealed yesterday. However, over half (52 per cent) said that complex regulations were the greatest obstacle to their expansion. “Businesses need assurance that relief will be coming their way to minimise red [...]
HMV meets banks on loan facility fears March 16, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV was yesterday preparing a presentation to its bank lenders due early next week as it works to resolve an impending breach of a loan covenant. HMV is meeting the banks on a weekly basis as it attempts to renegotiate terms of a £240m loan facility and is taking debt advice from [...]
Finance boss Solomons steps into the breach March 16, 2011 IHG chief finance officer Richard Solomons has been at the heart of the company’s expansion in China and rebranding of its Holiday Inns. He has been a constant travelling companion of outgoing chief executive Andy Cosslett as the pair turned round the company’s fortunes after the recession. The Manchester University student, now 48, qualified as [...]
Cheltenham’s commercial supremo outlines ambitions for UK racing Plc March 14, 2011 TODAY marks the start of the Cheltenham Festival – the jewel in the crown of the jump racing calendar and one of the biggest days of the year for Simon Bazalgette, chief executive of the Jockey Club, which owns and runs the sporting event. Over the four days until the festival reaches its climax with [...]
Southern Cross shares dive on debt worries March 14, 2011 SHARES in healthcare group Southern Cross plunged by up to 60 per cent yesterday as the company admitted it was struggling in the face of NHS and council budget cuts. The company has appointed KPMG to look at restructuring options after cuts in local authority spending worsened its trading outlook. It said yesterday that it [...]
KPMG: UK banks must double capital for new Basel rules March 13, 2011 BANKS need to double their core capital in order to comply with Basel III, according to KPMG’s annual benchmark report on UK banks. The report warns that despite a recovery in profits (see chart above) and a marked drop in impairments across the board, new capital and liquidity requirements will throw up barriers to better [...]
Morale at UK factories hits record high March 13, 2011 CONFIDENCE among British manufacturers has hit a record high, business consultancy KPMG said today. Over two thirds (68 per cent) of surveyed manufacturers expect business activity to increase, leading to the highest positive balance (60.4 per cent) since the survey began in 2002. And morale in the service sector is also improving, the report showed. [...]