OFT to be left out of pocket by Threshers November 8, 2009 THE Office of Fair Trading is set to be one of the biggest casualties from the demise of high street off-licence firm First Quench Retailer, as it is owed millions of pounds. First Quench Retailing, the parent company behind Threshers and Wine Rack off-licences, was one of six firms fined £173.3.m by the OFT last [...]
Big Four faces auditing probe November 5, 2009 THE big four accountancy firms have been put on notice over possible conflicts of interest stemming from the growing overlap of internal and external audit services. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched a three-month inquiry after details of a deal between KPMG and Rentokil were made public. The controversial contract provides a “deeper” service [...]
Off-licence administrator begins to slash workforce November 5, 2009 THE administrators of the collapsed company behind the Threshers and Wine Rack off-licence chains are to shut hundreds of shops and cut more than 1,700 jobs, it emerged yesterday. KPMG said 373 stores owned by First Quench Retailing will close, leading to more than 1,738 redundancies. First Quench Retailing, which went into administration last week, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 4, 2009 EvolutionThe financial services group has appointed Christopher Chambers as a non-executive director, effective immediately.Chambers, 48, was previously chief executive of Man Investments and an executive director of Man Group until 2005, co-head of European equity capital markets at Credit Suisse First Boston and director of equity capital markets and corporate broking at BZW. LaSalle The [...]
Lift in staff demand, says KPMG November 3, 2009 The UK jobs market looks healthier today than at any time in the last two years, according to KPMG’s latest report on jobs. According to the report, the growth of permanent and temporary staff appointments accelerated to two-year and sixteen-month highs respectively in October, while overall vacancies increased for the first time in seventeen months. [...]
Threshers owner hires KPMGas administrators October 29, 2009 FIRST Quench Retailing, the owner of off-licence chains Thresher and Wine Rack, yesterday said that it has appointed KPMG as administrator. The Board said it had not been able to inform colleagues and employees of impending job uncertainty before the news surfaced. KPMG said that the “best prospect for the business is a sale as [...]
Threshers fights administration October 27, 2009 First Quench, the owner of Threshers and Wine Rack, was last night fighting the threat of administration as it feels the effects of the downturn. The firm is being advised by accountant KPMG, and it is understood that a pre-packaged administration – where a new buyer is agreed with secured creditors – is one of [...]
Big Four accountants retain hold over blue-chip audit jobs October 27, 2009 ATTEMPTS to inject more competition into firms that audit UK company books have suffered a setback as figures released yesterday showed the “Big Four” accountants maintaining their stranglehold on the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) set up a market participants group three years ago which made recommendations to spread this business more evenly. It [...]
Revenues at Deloitte drop in the slump October 26, 2009 PROFESSIONAL services group Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu saw its full-year global revenues drop five per cent to $26.1bn (£16bn) yesterday, as accountants worldwide feel the pinch from a dearth in major mergers and acquisitions. Deloitte’s chief executive Jim Quigley said the performance of the group, one of the big four accountancy firms, was satisfactory given the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 26, 2009 KPMGThe accountancy firm’s forensic practice has recruited Nigel Layton, the founder of specialist corporate investigations firm Quest, as a director in the corporate intelligence team. Layton set up Quest in 1995 and has since built up its reputation via cases including an inquiry for the Premier League into allegations of irregular payments surrounding certain football [...]