Professional services are a bedrock of City success November 11, 2009 AN insurer talking to accountants may not sound like much of a crowd-drawer in the traditional sense. But when Lord Levene, chairman of Lloyd’s of London, addressed a breakfast briefing at Chartered Accountants Hall yesterday, his comments were enough to spark real interest among the audience. Levene’s salient point was that we cannot allow one [...]
Nuclear sites get the all clear November 9, 2009 NUCLEAR POWER expansion got the go-ahead from the government yesterday, after energy secretary Ed Miliband named 10 approved sites in England and Wales for future power stations. Miliband said the list includes German utility RWE’s plans for Kirksanton, a site in Cumbria, which currently has no nuclear facilities. But he rejected EDF Energy’s proposal for [...]
EX-BANKER TRIES HIS LUCK WITH SEX TOYS November 9, 2009 OF ALL the career paths followed by former City types who have lost jobs in the recession, this one really does take the biscuit. Matt Thomas, a former manager in corporate finance at Seymour Pierce, decided to make the most of the opportunity when he was made redundant last November by setting up a joint [...]
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 [...]