Chinese takeover activity in UK and beyond set to accelerate further, despite political rhetoric and Brexit vote December 5, 2016 Edinburgh-based flights search website Skyscanner and West Bromwich Albion Football Club have been among the high-profile UK targets gobbled up by Chinese businesses this year. With most of December still to come, China-to-UK mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity has already hit record levels. To date, 31 deals worth $7.65bn (£6.01bn) have been agreed, according to [...]
Plenty of profit for UK partners after Deloitte reports strong earnings August 23, 2015 Deloitte UK partners received bumper payouts this year after high business confidence led to a robust company performance. The professional services firm’s revenue hit £2.71bn in the 12 months ending 31 May, up 6.4 per cent on the year before, it said this morning. Consultancy revenues led the way with a rise of 10.5 per [...]
As the clocks go back, now is the time to reboot your sleep October 29, 2016 The City is on the verge of a sleeplessness epidemic. Every week we work with top London business professionals who are permanently rundown and operating on empty due to neglecting their sleep. Whether this is because they are negotiating unmanageable workloads, their ambition, or their inability to switch off their phone (recent research by Deloitte revealed [...]
Here’s how much Sir Philip Green’s BHS pension bill has risen due to Brexit August 3, 2016 Sir Philip Green recently described negotiations with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) over plugging BHS' pension deficit as "cumbersome and slow" – after the Brexit vote, an agreement will also be expensive. After the Brexit vote, falling yields have led to the aggregate deficit of pensions schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) rising by more than 18 per cent since the BHS [...]
Gender pay gap reporting will be the catalyst for a better informed debate on equality in the workplace October 11, 2016 Beware the “shrill equal pay brigade” warned a Conservative MP in Parliament last month. While his sexist rhetoric displayed a staggering disdain for those championing fairer workplaces, he also managed to miss the point. Equal pay is only part of the picture – we need a better informed debate about gender equality in the workplace. [...]
Telegraph publisher reports falling profits in “challenging” environment September 3, 2016 The publisher of the Daily Telegraph has reported falling profits, in line with many other Fleet Street titles this year. The figures Telegraph Media Group (TMG) which is owned by Sir David and Frederick Barclay, has reported an operating profit of £51.7m in the 53 weeks to 3 January this year. The company’s operating profit in [...]
It’s facile to blame the referendum for everything: Digital killed the TV star, not Brexit October 26, 2016 It matters not which sector you work in, if something has gone wrong since June, chances are it was the fault of Brexit. Just try it, it’s easy: “_______ happened, due to Britain voting to leave the European Union”. Feels good, doesn’t it? As sinecures go, doomsayers have only just stopped short of blaming Brexit [...]
Experts fight back against government’s tax avoidance proposals August 17, 2016 Accountants and lawyers have today pushed back against new tax avoidance proposals from the Treasury, arguing they risk punishing people for merely trying to do right by their clients. Earlier today, the Treasury laid out plans which would penalise advisers for offering information on how to sidestep tax, while a consultation run by HM Revenue [...]
Here’s how much of a house €200,000 will buy you in countries across Europe July 19, 2016 It's hardly big news UK house prices are among the most expensive in Europe – but what does that actually mean, practically speaking? This chart from Statista, using data from Deloitte, lays out exactly what you can expect to get with in different countries with the same amount of cash – €200,000 (£167,690). And while London is [...]
Bash this: The UK’s highest-rated chief executive is a banker June 8, 2016 Is this the end of banker bashing? It turns out the UK's most beloved chief executive works in the finance sector – but his isn't one of the traditional lenders… A new ranking by job review site Glassdoor, which is compiled by looking at how employees rate their own bosses, put Craig Donaldson, the chief executive of [...]