Too little too late, Mike Ashley – shareholder groups shun Sports Direct’s report September 6, 2016 Sports Direct attempted to fix its tattered public image today by publishing a report on its review of working practices – but shareholder advisory groups are unmoved by Mike Ashley's last-ditch efforts to avoid an investor revolt at his company's annual general meeting. City A.M. understands that influential advisory group Glass Lewis has not changed its position [...]
City Moves for 26 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 26, 2016 Ayming International business performance consultancy group Ayming has appointed Alejandro Alvarez as UK director for operations performance. Alejandro has been brought in to launch Ayming’s UK operations performance business unit, which will focus on helping clients to improve their operational efficiency, procurement & supply chain performance and working capital. Prior to joining Ayming, Alejandro was [...]
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is being scrutinised again after shareholders called for a board review August 25, 2016 Shareholder group Investor Forum today issued a statement to Sports Direct demanding an "independent and comprehensive review" of the board's governance practices. That again? Following rumours yesterday evening a statement was on its way, the group – which represents 12 per cent of share capital and 27 per cent of independent shareholders – took what it admitted was [...]
From faulty cars to dodgy cheese: The number of product recalls hits a record high March 14, 2016 The number of products recalled after businesses discovered a health risk or a product flaw has soared to a record high, research out today shows. Around 310 products ranging from cars to groceries were recalled in the 12 months to 31 October 2015 compared with 245 the previous year – a jump of 26 per [...]
City Moves for 22 March 2016 | Who’s switching jobs March 22, 2016 RPC Consulting RPC Consulting – the insurance consultancy arm of RPC – has appointed four senior insurance actuarial professionals to its team in London and Cambridge. Pete Lee, James Norman and Tony Lovick all worked at EMB (now Willis Towers Watson). Natasha Regan joins from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Pete has over 25 years’ [...]
Overseas regulators increasingly asking the Financial Conduct Authority for assistance, hiking up the compliance burden for UK businesses January 18, 2016 The number of requests for assistance from foreign enforcement agencies received by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has risen over the last year. According to figures released today from City law firm RPC, the FCA received 1,073 such requests in the year to 30 September 2015, up four per cent compared to the year before, [...]
City Moves for 25 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 25, 2016 Carter Jonas Carter Jonas has recruited Paul Astbury as a partner and new head of compulsory purchase, working within its infrastructure team. Paul, who will be based out of Carter Jonas’ HQ in London, will work closely with the planning and development teams across the country, providing a market-leading compulsory purchase service to local authorities [...]
City Moves for 12 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 12, 2016 RPC Consulting Chris Carson has joined RPC Consulting – the insurance consultancy arm of RPC – as a partner from PwC. Chris has over 28 years’ experience in the insurance sector and while at PwC, he led the Big Four accountancy firm’s insurance advisory practice across EMEA. Chris has worked at board level with Direct [...]
The national living wage is a ticking time bomb of hidden costs for British businesses April 1, 2016 The national living wage is expected to hit British businesses with hundreds of millions in hidden costs this year, in addition to the £804m already estimated – hindering investment and creating a time bomb that will blast through bottom lines by 2020. Figures from the government’s regulatory watchdog show employers may find themselves dealing with the [...]
Court fee hike will undermine London’s position, says RPC March 1, 2015 THE GOVERNMENT’S proposal to increase court fees will undermine London’s position as a global centre of dispute resolution, according to a new report by City law firm RPC. The report, released today, claims research undertaken by the Ministry of Justice revealed 61 per cent of the commercial lawyers surveyed believe the government’s plans to increase [...]