Former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia hunts for investors in new tech startup January 28, 2019 The former head of challenger bank Virgin Money is to set up her own fintech startup, designed to save consumers money on their household bills. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has approached several investors regarding a new company called Snoop, which will take advantage of Open Banking rules to utilise data about customers' spending habits, according to reports [...]
Combined Just Eat and Takeaway.com shares start trading February 3, 2020 The combined shares of Just Eat and Takeaway.com began trading this morning, despite a competition watchdog probe into the merger. Just Eat’s shares were suspended this morning and the merged company Just Eat Takeaway.com began trading on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker Jet. However, a full integration of the two takeaway platforms is [...]
PwC back with a vengeance at top of audit client rankings March 3, 2019 Accountancy giant PwC has become the leading auditor of listed UK clients for the first time since 2013, retaking its FTSE 100 client crown in the process. PwC, Britain’s biggest professional services firm by revenues, leapfrogged fourth-placed KPMG to take pole position. The smaller firm lost 12 clients between November last year and February, while [...]
The UK’s competition policy must be fit for a world of tech giants and hidden cartels March 11, 2019 Competition is the oxygen of the capitalist system. From Adam Smith on, there have been warnings of the threats to economic health if competition is restricted by would-be monopolists or cartels. In the UK, the system is policed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It rarely hits the headlines except for occasional controversial cases like [...]
Business lobby groups slam competition watchdog’s calls for radical audit reform April 18, 2019 Business lobby group the CBI said reforms to the audit sector proposed today by the competition watchdog could “undermine confidence in corporate Britain”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today called for the Big Four accountancy firm’s audit arms to be split from their non-audit arms with separate profit pool and management in a major [...]
Celebrity marketing fees fall by two-thirds in two years amid shift to micro-influencers February 20, 2019 The amount of money marketers are willing to splurge on high-profile celebrity influencers has plunged by two-thirds over the last two years, a new survey has revealed. Data published by Rakuten Marketing shows UK marketers are willing to fork out £25,000 for a single post by a Facebook influencer, down from £75,000 in 2017. Read [...]
CMA launches investigation into suspected financial services cartel November 16, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into a possible financial services cartel, it announced today. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its probe into the alleged anti-competitive activity was launched under Chapter One of the Competition Act 1998, which addresses price fixing and attempts to control markets. The statement gave little detail [...]
Competition and Markets Authority to recommend market share cap for Big Four audit firms December 13, 2018 The UK's top four audit firms are facing a market share cap to encourage competition from smaller companies as the sector comes under increased scrutiny following a number of high profile corporate collapses. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to recommend a limit on the number of large listed companies that the so-called Big [...]
Rampant rodents: Rats on the rise last summer boost finances at pest control giant Rentokil February 28, 2019 Pest control giant Rentokil’s shares rose on Thursday morning as it said its services had been in high demand through last year’s long, hot summer. The blue chip firm also announced it would replace its chairman of more than a decade, John McAdam, with senior director at Aston Martin, Richard Solomons. Read more: CMA orders [...]
Long awaited audit reforms could start this year, says audit watchdog boss March 5, 2020 The long-promised reform of the UK audit sector could start this year with voluntary changes by the Big Four accounting firms, the audit watchdog said today. The collapse of outsourcer Carillion in 2018 prompted three reviews of the sector and two years on there have been calls from MPs and industry figures to speed up [...]