Reds seal refinancing deal with RBS and Wachovia July 27, 2009 LIVERPOOL’S owners have ended months of uncertainty by refinancing £290m of debt they accrued in buying the club. The deal with Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia is believed to have extended Tom Hicks and George Gillett’s repayment period for a year. The Americans are also thought to have agreed to pay back £60m of [...]
COFFEE BEAN COUNTERS July 27, 2009 IT may come as something of a surprise but accountancy can be something of a bitchy world. So, ever since KPMG won the account as administrators to the coffee chain Coffee Republic earlier this month, there have been rumours that it did so by undercutting some of its rivals on fees. Not so, says KPMG. [...]
Tata hires KPMG to help cut costs at Jaguar as its earnings in India surge July 27, 2009 JAGUAR LAND ROVER’S (JLR) owner, Tata Motors, has hired KPMG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants to advise it on cost-cutting at the struggling car firm. The carmaker will be given advice on how to break even and on how to manage its cashflow more effectively. “We are going ahead with their proposals and this is [...]
City’s most successful accountant still has plenty of fire in his belly July 20, 2009 IT IS EASY to tell when you are nearing , Deloitte boss John Connolly’s office because an awful lot of people you bump into in the firm’s corridors begin to ask about his welfare. “Is John in?” asks one, a tad nervously. “What mood is he in today?” asks another. There is a feeling of [...]
London retail sales outpace UK thanks to sunshine and tourists July 19, 2009 RETAIL sales surged in central London last month thanks to the mini heatwave which sent shoppers racing for summer clothes, sandals and outdoor items, according to the latest survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Research found like-for-like sales in June were 4.7 per cent higher than the same month in 2008 when [...]
Surge in fraud as hard times encourage investors and firms to drop their guard July 19, 2009 FRAUD is hitting record levels in the UK, with over 160 cases of serious fraud with charges of more than £100,000 during the first half of this year, according to the latest barometer from business advisers KPMG. The half-year figures are the highest recorded since KPMG began the survey 21 years ago. Together the cases [...]
CANTERBURY TRIES BUT FAILS July 13, 2009 THE European arm of rugby shirt maker Canterbury yesterday fell into administration, with the loss of 72 jobs in the UK. Canterbury Europe supplies teams including the London Wasps, Leinster and the Scottish national side. Administrators KPMG said all contracts with clubs have now been cancelled. The rest of Canterbury Group, including the global Canterbury [...]
Canary Wharf versus the City row is reignited July 12, 2009 THE departure of Japanese bank Nomura from Canary Wharf to the City has reignited the row between the two hubs over where the true heart of the financial sector lies. Nomura is quitting the Isle of Dogs for the new new 525,000 sq ft riverside City complex Watermark Place. But Canary Wharf achieved a coup [...]
GRINDING DOWN July 9, 2009 ADMINISTRATOR KPMG yesterday said 10 of the 20 outlets directly owned by coffee chain Coffee Republic had shut their doors with the loss of 66 jobs. The group collapsed into administration on Tuesday after it was hit by consumers scaling back on discretionary spending. KPMG yesterday said it was now in talks with potential buyers [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 9, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESSTRATEGIC REVAMP FOR LLOYD’SLloyd’s of London has begun the biggest strategic review it has undertaken this decade in an attempt to ensure the more than 320-year-old insurance market does not fail in exploiting the gaps in the market thrown up by the financial crisis. The institution, which deals in insurance risks from all over the [...]