Morgan Sindall claims the first Connaught job September 9, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Morgan Sindall struck a deal with Connaught’s administrator KPMG to acquire the bulk of its social housing repair operations last night, according to several people close to the agreement. Morgan Sindall is set to announce the coup to the stock market today, in a move that will secure jobs for around 2,500 of [...]
Retail sales failed to pick up in October November 8, 2010 RETAIL sales failed to revive in October as weak consumer confidence in the lead up to the comprehensive spending review undermined growth the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will say today. The latest figures show total retail sales grew by 2.4 per cent year-on-year in October but this compared to growth of 5.9 per cent for [...]
Predators circle £200m remains of Connaught September 12, 2010 CONNAUGHT’S surviving businesses could be sold for up to £200m after repairs specialist Mears and construction firm Morgan Sindell carved up its social housing arm. Administrator KPMG has received a flurry of offers for Connaught’s compliance and environmental divisions, which are trading as normal. Mears, property consultancy RPS Group and outsourcing group Mitie are understood [...]
John Lewis is ranked among influential list November 14, 2010 RETAIL giant John Lewis has surged into a ranking of Britain’s most influential brands, as the group’s partnership approach to doing business and a record year for till receipts propelled it into the top three. TLG’s annual index of UK Business Thought Leaders ranks John Lewis below Apple and Google but above other respected names [...]
Cuts to local governments could push outsourcing firms into administration October 20, 2010 LOCAL government will bear the brunt of some of the harshest cuts in the entire spending review, prompting one expert to predict the collapse of a number of companies that rely on outsourcing work. The department of communities and local government will see its day-to-day spending cut by 33 per cent in real terms over [...]
Big four accountants warned by FRC to improve on audits September 13, 2010 THE FOUR largest accountancy firms need to improve the quality of audit services, a body within the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has warned. A report into the auditing practices of the “big four” accountancy firms, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG, found that in three cases KPMG had signed off on audits [...]
Government to meet suppliers to discuss cuts September 29, 2010 FRANCIS Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, will hold discussions on Friday with major defence, IT and other equipment suppliers aimed at shaving billions of pounds from its annual procurement bill. Companies such as Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Cisco Systems, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Slaughter & May and Tata Consultancy Services are expected to be at [...]
EU proposals target radical audit revamp October 13, 2010 “BIG FOUR” accountancy firms could be forced to scale back their audit activities in the future, if a European Commission consultation on shaking up the industry finds that the scale of individual players poses a systemic risk. The EU’s internal markets commissioner Michel Barnier yesterday launched the wide-ranging consultation to examine whether the role of [...]
Growth in UK jobs weakens as doubts over recovery hit September 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S struggling job market continued to suffer in August with the number of permanent appointments rising at the slowest rate since October 2009, against a gloomy backdrop of public sector layoffs and downbeat business confidence. The monthly survey conducted by professional services firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed that the number [...]
Growth in UK jobs weakens as doubts over recovery hit September 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S struggling job market continued to suffer in August with the number of permanent appointments rising at the slowest rate since October 2009, against a gloomy backdrop of public sector layoffs and downbeat business confidence. The monthly survey conducted by professional services firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed that the number [...]