FRC probes KPMG and PwC’s Eddie Stobart audits May 26, 2020 The accounting watchdog has opened investigations into audits by KPMG and PwC of haulage firm Eddie Stobart Logistics. In August, Eddie Stobart sacked its chief executive and suspended trading in its shares after an accounting investigation found its 2018 profits had been overstated by £2m. A review of the company’s accounts, undertaken by finance chief [...]
Brave beginnings May 26, 2020 On Tuesday, 8 March 2016, Bitcoin was trading at $412.07 and Ethereum was hot on its heels at $10.86. The KR1 team had just inked a deal to take a dormant publicly listed former Romanian property investment company and turn it into a publicly listed crypto fund. Every single person involved in the process, whether [...]
Boris Johnson sets out plans for shops and markets to reopen May 25, 2020 The Prime Minister has set out plans for the second phase of easing lockdown restrictions from next week, which includes opening non-essential shops from 15 June. Boris Johnson said there will be a formal assessment of easing the coronavirus lockdown restrictions on Thursday as part of the legal review. However, he has revealed plans to [...]
Appointment times and NHS discounts: How retailers plan to lure shoppers back after lockdown May 23, 2020 After more than two months of enforced closure during the UK coronavirus lockdown, retailers across England are preparing to potentially reopen to shoppers from 1 June. The high street will look different when retailers are allowed to open their doors. Social distancing signage will be in place, shop assistants will wear masks and a number [...]
Housing transactions collapse in April as lockdown hits UK property market May 21, 2020 Housing transactions plunged in April as the UK property market was brought to a standstill by the coronavirus crisis. The latest data from HM Revenue and Customs showed that the number of residential property transactions last month was down 53.2 per cent compared to April 2019. Housing transactions were also 46.1 per cent lower than [...]
London landlord Great Portland Estates pulls rental value guidance due to coronavirus May 20, 2020 London landlord Great Portland Estates pulled its guidance on rental values for the year, but warned that the coronavirus crisis would continue to have a negative impact on property in the capital. The property firm’s portfolio value dropped 0.3 per cent in the year ended 31 March as retail property values fell 3.5 per cent. [...]
Consumer law firm Taylor Rose buys rival McMillan Williams in pre-pack deal amid High Street law coronavirus struggles May 20, 2020 Consumer law firm Taylor Rose has bought struggling rival McMillan Williams in a pre-pack administration deal in what could be an early sign of an expected wave of consolidation in the High Street legal sector. Law Society president Simon Davis warned earlier this month that more than 70 per cent of High Street firms may [...]
UK house prices jumped before coronavirus lockdown brought market to standstill May 20, 2020 UK house prices jumped in March before the coronavirus lockdown brought the housing market to a standstill. The average UK house price increased 2.1 per cent in the year to March, up from two per cent in February. London house prices soared 4.7 per cent, the largest 12-month growth recorded in the capital since December [...]
Rolls-Royce to swing axe at 9,000 employees over coronavirus May 20, 2020 Rolls-Royce warned today it will look to make at least 9,000 workers to cut £1.3bn in annual costs as it copes with the economic downturn from coronavirus. The British engine-maker warned it will swing the axe mostly at staff in its civil aerospace division as it begins consulting unions. That prompted the government to say [...]
As digital assets ready to mainstream, Governments respond May 19, 2020 Some may still think of digital assets as largely unregulated with little government oversight. But as consumer awareness and interest in digital assets grow, so does attention from policymakers around the world. This ‘attention’ has produced both praise and punitive action. Last month, three U.S. legislative bills were proposed calling for the creation of “Digital [...]