What to expect from Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement September 21, 2016 The UK entered a period of heightened political and economic uncertainty following the EU referendum. But as the fog begins to clear, we are starting to see more clearly what might be on the horizon. We downgraded our forecast for UK economic growth in the aftermath of the referendum. Our concerns have since receded, as [...]
Interserve seals £37.5m account with Land Securities October 17, 2016 Interserve has won a three-year facilities management account with commercial property firm Land Securities, valued at £37.5m. The support services company announced it would be providing a range of services to Land Securities, including security, cleaning, customer service support and waste management. This would be across eight of its shopping centres, with a ninth – Westgate [...]
Heathrow expansion will gift the whole UK a skills renaissance October 31, 2016 I’m very pleased to have been invited to chair the Heathrow Skills Taskforce, and to take on the challenge of developing the skills needed to make Heathrow expansion an inclusive training and employment opportunity for Britain as a whole. The Taskforce is made up of experts from schools, colleges and universities as well as employer and [...]
As the typical UK house price rises to six times annual earnings, should young people forget about ever buying? November 2, 2016 Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Unless something changes, few of today’s youth will ever own their own homes – there is simply not enough housing to go round. Home ownership has been falling, generation by generation. When they were 45, around 80 per cent of the cohort born in [...]
City Moves for 12 September | Who’s switching jobs September 12, 2016 UHY Hacker Young UHY Hacker Young has appointed Martin Jones as a new partner in its London audit and assurance team. Martin joins from Ecovis Wingrave Yeats, where he was a partner in the audit team. He brings over 30 years of experience providing audit, financial reporting, outsourcing and advisory services to firms of all sizes, across a range [...]
European Commission wants details on the Nissan deal from the UK government November 7, 2016 The European Commission has confirmed it has made contact with the UK government regarding the Nissan deal, following media coverage. A spokesperson said: "We have seen press reports regarding this issue. As a result, the Commission at services level is in contact with the UK authorities." The Commission has asked for details on what assurances [...]
City Moves for 14 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 14, 2016 London Bullion Market Association The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has appointed Andy Quinn as non-executive director. He currently serves as a director of Randgold Resources, the Africa focussed FTSE 100 gold mining company, where he chairs the remuneration committee and is also a member of the audit committee. Having served on the board since 2011, he takes up [...]
Britain must raise its game on innovation to make a success of Brexit November 7, 2016 The UK economy has so far proved hardy in the face of the vote to leave the EU. While GDP growth has slowed, it’s been higher than many had expected – consumers continue to spend on the high street and exporters have been taking advantage of a weaker sterling. But uncertain times are still ahead [...]
The gateway to a new business order: Why crowdfunding is just the start of the next era of organisations January 19, 2017 A new campaign appeared on crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder this week. Scottish energy firm Our Energy is raising £450,000 to set up an alternative gas and electricity provider. Fed up with Big Six high tariffs and just “lining shareholders’ pockets”, founders David Pike and Karen Snode decided to start a competitor, with plans to be operational [...]
Tandem Bank’s chief executive Ricky Knox talks sarongs, dumb pipes, ornithology and why Facebook is scared of banking February 27, 2017 "Would you have called Amazon? I didn’t! We all thought that was just a fad – it was a bookseller. An online bookseller with that valuation? But the internet creates these giants – and it’s not just one or two of them. "Look at music – EMI is basically dead. Google – a little bulls*** [...]