HMV in crisis talks as debt threatens bank limits January 19, 2011 TROUBLED music retailer HMV has called in KPMG for debt management advice to try to stop it breaching upcoming bank covenants. HMV, which experienced a torrid day yesterday after admitting that credit insurers had reduced their coverage of its sales amid fears of its creditworthiness, has hired the accountant to provide specialist debt advisory services, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 19, 2011 Alvarez & Marshal Alvarez & Marsal, the global professional services firm, is expanding its European real estate advisory business in Europe with the appointment of London-based directors, Patrick Anderson and Caspar Vredenbregt. Anderson and Vredenbregt both have over 12 years of experience in real estate development, investment and finance. Prior to joining A&M, Anderson was [...]
Myners: risk from big four January 18, 2011 LORD Myners yesterday told a parliamentary committee that the concentration of auditing services among the “big four” accounting firms represents a systemic risk. Appearing before the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee, the former City minister said that successive mergers had led to firms not having enough alternatives to Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG when [...]
Meggitt buys parts maker for $685m January 18, 2011 AEROSPACE engineer Meggitt is to buy Pacific Scientific Aerospace (PSA), which manufactures fire extinguishers and aircraft parts, for $685m (£431m) in cash, it said yesterday. Dorset-based Meggitt will use a 69.8m share placement, equivalent to about 10 per cent of total share capital, to raise about £255m to fund the deal. The remaining £176m will [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN FROM BOARD One of the last Royal Bank of Scotland directors to remain on the bank’s board from the days of Sir Fred goodwin is poised to step down from his role. Colin Buchan, 56, a former UBS investment banker who until recently was chairman of RBS’s remuneration [...]
KPMG to pay undergraduates January 13, 2011 School-leavers could be paid upwards of £20,000 a year while they study at university, in a landmark scheme launched by KPMG yesterday. The programme is the latest attempt by Britain’s leading accountancy firm to capitalise on anxiety over rising university fees. High-achieving school graduates who commit to a six-year training contract will be put through [...]
City responds to calls to make a commitment to personal finance January 12, 2011 SINCE the launch of City A.M.’s Campaign for Financial Literacy yesterday, the number of positive responses received from City firms that are already engaged in education initiatives has been incredibly encouraging. Financial planners Killik, for example, has been developing a web-based tutorial known as Money in Mind. The site uses simple graphics and language to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 10, 2011 KPMG Bob Pringle (pictured), has been appointed head of equity capital markets at KPMG, joining the company from Hoare Govett. In addition, the company has hired Jonathan Coddington and James Murray as partners. Coddington moves over from Hawkpoint and will be working on KPMG’s healthcare deals team, while Murray comes to the firm from Rothschild [...]
Taxpayers bear brunt of fraud January 9, 2011 Taxpayers bore the brunt of a huge increase in fraud last year, with the public losing nearly £600m, according to KPMG. In a year which saw the highest level of fraud since the accountant’s Fraud Barometer began 23 years ago, the cost to victims was almost £1.4bn. The number of recorded cases last year rose [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 6, 2011 Syndicate Asset Management The fund management group has promoted Jeremy Rance to the role of chief operating officer for the group. He will now be in charge of organising operational performance across all of the group’s subsidiaries. He joined the company in June last year at its subsidiary Ashcourt Rowan, having previously worked at Barclays, [...]