KPMG unit sale creates new restructuring behemoth Interpath Advisory March 4, 2021 KPMG has signed an unconditional agreement to sell its restructuring practice to Interpath Advisory, a newly-formed company backed by private equity firm HIG Europe. The sale will see 22 partners and around 528 staff currently employed in KPMG’s restructuring practice transfer to Interpath Advisory, making it the largest independent restructuring and turnaround business in the [...]
Divido and conquer May 7, 2021 Divido’s co-founder and chief executive, Christer Holloman, has stated that the company’s long-term goal is to be the world’s largest white label platform for retail finance software. One might be forgiven for thinking that 12 months into a global pandemic that ambition may now be a little ambitious, even for one of the world’s brightest [...]
Around 2,450 high street jobs lost as Boohoo buys Arcadia brands at ‘discount price’ February 8, 2021 The sale of Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton to Boohoo has put 2,450 jobs at risk, as all of the Arcadia brands’ physical stores are set to close. Deloitte, which was appointed as administrator to Sir Philip Green’s collapsed retail empire, announced today that Boohoo has bought the brands’ digital assets for £25.2m. All 214 [...]
UK PMIs: Manufacturing recovery continues despite fresh lockdown fears October 1, 2020 Britain’s manufacturing sector continued its strong recovery from the coronavirus slump in September, although it dropped off the record pace set in August. The IHS Markit/Cips manufacturing purchasing managers (PMI) index stood at 54.1 in September, with any score above the 50 mark indicating growth. In August, the index recorded a score of 55.2, its [...]
Government launches legal action against former Carillion directors January 14, 2021 Ministers have launched legal action against eight former directors of collapsed outsourcing giant Carillion, a move that could see them banned from serving as directors for up to 15 years. Nearly three years after the firm went bust, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has brought proceedings against the former chairman, two chief executives, two finance chiefs, [...]
Virgin Australia bondholders submit rival buyout bid July 20, 2020 Virgin Australia bondholders have submitted a rival deal to Deloitte to buy the embattled carrier out of administration, a spokesman said today. Last month US investment fund Bain Capital emerged as the victorious bidder for the airline, in a deal worth an undisclosed sum. Although the offer eclipsed proposals offered by Cyrus Capital Partners and [...]
Regional construction activity booming despite Brexit gloom, says Deloitte February 5, 2019 Construction activity at four major regional UK cities is at record levels, despite uncertainty around Brexit causing industry growth to falter, according to research. Accounting firm Deloitte’s regional crane survey covering Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast showed growing activity across sectors including projects building office space, hotels, retail sites, education facilities and student housing. Read [...]
Audit sector ‘failing society and needs reform’ warns think tank April 21, 2021 The UK’s audit sector is “failing society” by coming up short when assessing firms’ finances and governance, leaving the door open to costly, Carillion-style business collapses, according to think tank IPPR. The think tank said there is an “expectation gap” between what audit currently assesses and what it needs to assess to fulfil the [...]
We must urgently solve the £15bn growth capital gap to keep innovation in the UK April 21, 2021 Cast your mind back to a decade ago, when the world of finance and banking was in disarray, and we were in midst of the worst economic disaster in generations. Trust in financial institutions was at an all-time low, and as so often happens, technology played a central role in restoring public faith and helped [...]
High street jobs lost as no buyer found for Oasis and Warehouse stores April 30, 2020 Oasis and Warehouse have become the latest high street casualties of the coronavirus crisis after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the stores, resulting in 1,803 redundancies. The retailer’s intellectual property assets and certain stock have been sold to Hilco Capital. The group, which includes the Oasis, Warehouse and The Idle Man brands, [...]