SRA backs down on high profile sexual misconduct case January 14, 2021 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided not to appeal a High Court ruling that followed a high-profile case featuring jagerbombs, a magic circle law firm and alleged sexual misconduct. The SRA will not appeal a High Court ruling in favour of an ex-Freshfields partner who allegedly took advantage of a junior colleague. The SRA [...]
Government launches legal action against former Carillion directors January 14, 2021 Ministers have launched legal action against eight former directors of collapsed outsourcing giant Carillion, a move that could see them banned from serving as directors for up to 15 years. Nearly three years after the firm went bust, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has brought proceedings against the former chairman, two chief executives, two finance chiefs, [...]
Commercial landlords call for insolvency rules overhaul amid ‘abuse’ of CVAs January 5, 2021 The British Property Federation (BPF) – the industry group representing landlords – has called for an overhaul of UK insolvency rules, claiming the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted “abuse” of restructuring proceedings. In a letter to corporate responsibility minister Lord Callanan, the BPF said the flexibility of the UK’s insolvency framework had led to the abuse [...]
Furlough extensions keeps redundancy rise to lowest since March December 23, 2020 The extension of the furlough scheme until the end of April 2021 appears to have slowed the rate of redundancies across the UK. New figures from the Insolvency Service show 36,700 redundancies were proposed in November, the lowest monthly figure since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March. The November total is around a fifth of [...]
New figures: Retailers in “significant distress” rises by 24 per cent December 22, 2020 Tens of thousands of retailers are now in significant financial distress as Tier restrictions take their toll. Some 39,232 retailers are believed to be in serious trouble, an increase of 24 per cent on the same period in 2019 and an 11 per cent jump on Q3 this year. Arcadia and Debenhams are amongst those [...]
Surge in bumper deals helps UK M&A regain its mojo December 18, 2020 After a slow start to the year UK M&A has bounced back after a surge in mega deals saw activity soar 80 per cent. M&A with UK involvement has totalled £429.8bn so far this year, 80 per cent more than the value recorded in 2019 according to research by data provider Refinitiv. A staggering 21 [...]
Ed Miliband calls on Philip Green to plug Arcadia pensions gap December 2, 2020 Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband has called on Sir Philip Green to plug the pension deficit at his failed retail firm Arcadia, saying staff “shouldn’t pay the price for his greed.” Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News this morning, the former Labour leader said that Green “owes a moral responsibility to 12,000 workers who [...]
German regulator suspects EY knowingly issued ‘factually inaccurate’ Wirecard audit December 1, 2020 Germany’s audit watchdog Apas suspects EY partners knew they were issuing a “factually inaccurate” audit for Wirecard in 2017. Apas has reported EY to prosecutors after believing the big four firm may have acted criminally during its work for payments company Wirecard, which collapsed into insolvency earlier this year. According to the FT, EY audited [...]
Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia facing collapse within hours November 30, 2020 Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia, which owns high street brands Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, is reportedly on the brink of collapse this morning. The retail group could become the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and appoint administrators as soon as this afternoon, City A.M. understands, which would put 13,000 jobs at risk. Mike [...]
German minister does not expect big insolvency wave until end of year November 27, 2020 German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said today he expects emergency aid will prevent a big wave of insolvencies in November and December among businesses, such as restaurants and hotels, that have been forced to close due to coronavirus curbs. “I believe that for the sectors primarily concerned (…) we have – through the November and [...]