Predators circle £200m remains of Connaught September 12, 2010 CONNAUGHT’S surviving businesses could be sold for up to £200m after repairs specialist Mears and construction firm Morgan Sindell carved up its social housing arm. Administrator KPMG has received a flurry of offers for Connaught’s compliance and environmental divisions, which are trading as normal. Mears, property consultancy RPS Group and outsourcing group Mitie are understood [...]
Morgan Sindall claims the first Connaught job September 9, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Morgan Sindall struck a deal with Connaught’s administrator KPMG to acquire the bulk of its social housing repair operations last night, according to several people close to the agreement. Morgan Sindall is set to announce the coup to the stock market today, in a move that will secure jobs for around 2,500 of [...]
KPMG looks to hand over Connaught jobs September 8, 2010 HOUSING repair firm Connaught formally appointed KPMG as its administrator yesterday, as rival property companies looked to take over the collapsed firm’s contracts. KPMG will keep the firm’s property maintenance arm trading until it has farmed out its contracts to other providers. Around 4,400 people face redundancy. Richard Heis, joint administrator, said the group had [...]
GT reveals non-executives September 8, 2010 GRANT Thornton (GT) has become the first large accounting firm to comply with new governance rules by revealing its new non-executives. The three non-executives are Richard Eyre, chairman of the Eden Project; Caroline Goodall, a consultant to law firm Herbert Smith; and Ed Warner chairman of UK Athletics. The UK’s biggest eight audit firms – [...]
Connaught in administration September 7, 2010 TROUBLED social housing repair firm Connaught put most of its business into administration yesterday, after its lenders refused to further fund the company. The FTSE 250 component said last night that its public sector business will be put into the hands of administrators KPMG, though its environment and compliance arms will remain in operation. The [...]
Growth in UK jobs weakens as doubts over recovery hit September 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S struggling job market continued to suffer in August with the number of permanent appointments rising at the slowest rate since October 2009, against a gloomy backdrop of public sector layoffs and downbeat business confidence. The monthly survey conducted by professional services firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed that the number [...]
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM OF THE YEAR | The Shortlist September 7, 2010 WHETHER it’s advising firms, publishing reports or driving efficiency, professional services firms are never far from the front line in the City. With their global reach and diversified portfolios, the best-known firms have emerged looking healthy and ready to face the challenges of the new, post-downturn world. Don’t miss the City event of the year – [...]
Weak rise in high street sales September 6, 2010 SALES on the high street picked up slightly last month but the positive performance was flattered by an extremely weak August 2009, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today. Like-for-like sales values, which strip out the effect on sales of changes in floorspace, rose one per cent in August compared to the same period [...]
Accountants hit as FTSE 100 skimps on bills September 6, 2010 DESPITE increasing fees during 2010, top accountants in the UK have reported a three per cent decline in the amount they collected from FTSE 100 clients, new research shows. During the 2009 to 2010 financial year, FTSE 100 companies paid £891.9m in both audit and non-audit fees, marking a drop from the previous year when [...]
JPMorgan Cazenove stays at top of broking league table August 31, 2010 FEARS Cazenove would bleed clients after JPMorgan bought out the remainder of the firm were demolished as it stayed at the top of the broking league table yesterday. JPMorgan Cazenove won nine clients in the past three months, according to data provider Hemscott, putting it in pole position with 253 contracts. The blue-blooded institution stole [...]