PwC: Customers should pay for bank accounts February 1, 2015 Banks should charge regular fees to current account customers, to encourage innovation and help challenger banks, PwC analysts argue in a report today. Most UK current accounts charge no upfront fee, but make money from low interest rates, overdraft fees and other one-off charges. However, implementing up-front charges may prove difficult, as the majority of [...]
2016 already looking positive for financial services jobs as top consultants net salaries of £97,000 January 18, 2016 The new year may have only just begun but there are already signs of 2016 being a strong year for financial sector jobs. According to findings released today by recruiter Morgan McKinley, many employers have already kicked off their 2016 hiring. “Despite a rude awakening to the start of the year from financial markets, we’ve actually [...]
Value of European IPOs in 2015 drops following Chinese stock market crash October 8, 2015 Flotations on Europe’s stock markets raised 30 per cent less money in the third quarter than the same time last year, according to PwC, although the accountancy firm predicts a pick-up in activity before the year-end. China’s August stock market crash sent jitters across the globe, prompted businesses to put their listing plans on ice, [...]
Shoe fits for Cinven as it takes home Kurt Geiger December 14, 2015 Kurt Geiger is changing hands for the third time in four years after being snapped up by private equity group Cinven. The group’s management and its backers Sycamore Partners have sold the 52 year-old footwear chain to Cinven in a deal thought to be worth around £250m. The sale is the latest in a string [...]
Where to invest in property in 2016: The 14 European cities better to invest in than London January 13, 2016 London's reputation as one of the best places to invest in property has slipped, according to a new report, as investors look towards rapidly changing smaller cities with more opportunities for growth. The capital has slipped to number 15 in the ranking of cities in the emerging trends in real estate report from PwC and [...]
Lords leap on banker bashing bandwagon December 15, 2015 They say that nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come. But what of an idea whose time came, went and which was then resurrected in the name of good old fashioned banker bashing? That's where we now find ourselves with the so-called "reverse burden of proof" rule for senior bankers. It first [...]
London hotels helped by Cup scrum September 24, 2015 LONDON hoteliers saw a record 2014 and while 2015 has so far failed to live up to last year, the Rugby World Cup could take total annual occupancy to a 10-year high, according to new data from PwC. PwC expects London to see occupancy growth of one per cent, for 2015, taking it to 84 [...]
Warren Buffett values companies with strong brands: Should you? February 5, 2016 Coca-Cola, American Express, Heinz, Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate of buying and holding familiar companies with strong brands. “The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business ‘castle’ that is earning high returns,” he wrote in 2007. “Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company being the low-cost producer or possessing [...]
UK leads record drop in carbon emissions as City told to gear up for climate finance opportunities October 12, 2015 The UK leads the steepest decline in carbon emissions since 2000 – and analysts suggest London’s financial markets should be gearing up for climate finance opportunities. The country’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 10.9 per cent last year, according to PwC’s annual report Low Carbon Economy Index 2015. This puts the UK ahead of all [...]
Rising rents mean that by 2020 over 25 per cent of consumer spending will be on household and utility bills November 11, 2015 Housing and utility bills will account for over a quarter of total UK consumer spending by 2020. Household expenses is the fastest-growing category of consumer spending, increasing at a rate of 3.5 per cent a year, compared to spending on food, which will drop 0.4 per cent a year by 2020. Higher spending reflects rising rent [...]