City business still booming November 29, 2010 BIG four accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has maintained its lead as the firm with the highest number of FTSE clients in the third quarter ended 4 November, according to the latest research from business data firm Hemscott. The Hemscott Corporate Advisers Rankings Guide, which is published quarterly, also revealed yesterday that public relations agency Brunswick had [...]
House of Lords slams Big Four auditors for role in banking crisis November 23, 2010 THE HOUSE of Lords yesterday accused the Big Four auditors of misleading investors by giving the banks a clean bill of health before the financial crisis. The Lords’ economic affairs committee grilled bosses of Ernst &Young, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG as part of a probe into a possible lack of competition in the financial services [...]
BLAIR WOOS LAWYERS WITH FOND MEMORIES November 22, 2010 CITY law firm Clifford Chance last night played host to a gathering of 250 of the City’s most prominent names in a one-off chance to hear from former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair blitzed into the event and had to run off to another engagement immediately afterwards, but in between he found time to cover [...]
Survey: new rules will hit bank profits November 22, 2010 NEW rules forcing banks to hold more capital could permanently depress profits and hit tax revenues and jobs, a survey has found. Liquidity buffers three times their present size will increase banks’ costs sharply and permanently reduce profit margins, according to the Evolving Bank Regulation study from business and tax consultants KPMG. The moves will [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 22, 2010 Huntsworth Group Global PR firm Huntsworth has added Colin Adams to its board as group finance director, replacing Tymon Broadhead. He has a background in media and joins from Bloomsbury Publishing, where has had been finance director since 1994. He also has three years’ experience on the investment committee of the creative capital fund. He [...]
John Lewis is ranked among influential list November 14, 2010 RETAIL giant John Lewis has surged into a ranking of Britain’s most influential brands, as the group’s partnership approach to doing business and a record year for till receipts propelled it into the top three. TLG’s annual index of UK Business Thought Leaders ranks John Lewis below Apple and Google but above other respected names [...]
Bidders circle as Pontin’s is placed into adminstration November 14, 2010 THE administrators for Pontin’s plan to take a measured approach to the sale of any assets, believing the business is in a strong position to continue operating. Jane Moriarty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, which was appointed administrator to Pontin’s on Friday evening, said she was not looking for a fire sale. The [...]
CITY SETS OFF HALF A TONNE OF FIREWORKS November 14, 2010 LONDONERS were treated to one of the capital’s biggest public fireworks displays of the year on Saturday, as the Lord Mayor’s grand finale boasted nearly half a tonne of fireworks. The show’s 800-year old parade was three miles long this time – twice as long as the route it followed from Temple to Bank – [...]
Retail sales failed to pick up in October November 8, 2010 RETAIL sales failed to revive in October as weak consumer confidence in the lead up to the comprehensive spending review undermined growth the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today. The latest figures show total retail sales grew by 2.4 per cent year-on-year in October but this compared to growth of 5.9 per cent for [...]
Threshers fails in sell-off as creditors left high and dry November 8, 2010 FEWER than a third of Threshers stores have reopened as off-licences after the chain folded last year, administrators revealed yesterday. Only 400 of the firm’s 1,400 stores were sold, with most being bought by small off-licence chains, said accountancy firm KPMG which is still working on the administration. The other 1,000 were returned to landlords. [...]