Competition watchdog launches review of audit sector October 9, 2018 The competition watchdog today confirmed it has launched a probe into the UK's audit sector, ending weeks of speculation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will review whether the sector is competitive and resilient enough to maintain high standards. Calls to review the sector and possibly break up the "Big Four" of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and EY [...]
Greg Clark’s flawed and feeble remedy will fail to stamp out the late payment problem October 4, 2018 Brexit confusion, in-fighting, and leadership peacocking have marred both the Labour and Conservative Party conferences this year, but business secretary Greg Clark provided a glimmer of hope for SMEs this week. Large companies could be forced to nominate a board member to ensure that invoices are paid properly as part of a planned crackdown on [...]
British construction growth sags to six-month low October 2, 2018 Output growth from the British construction sector sagged to its lowest level in six months in September as civil engineering projects stalled, according to a closely followed indicator. The construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 52.1 points in September, down from 52.9 in August, according to data firm IHS Markit. Civil engineering output, such [...]
Mitie sheds pest control business amid efforts to restructure October 1, 2018 Outsourcing group Mitie revealed plans to offload its £40m pest control business this morning, as it ramps up efforts to restructure the business in the wake of several profit warnings. The FTSE 250 firm said it would sell its pest control arm to business services giant Rentokil Initial as it seeks to plough more of [...]
More construction firms are entering insolvency since Carillion’s collapse October 1, 2018 The number of construction firms entering insolvency has jumped six per cent following the collapse of Carillion. The construction giant's liquidation caused knock-on effects for the whole industry supply chain in the UK, top 10 accountancy firm Moore Stephens said. Read more: Carillion redundancy payouts to hit £65m Figures from the government's insolvency services showed [...]
Pressure mounts on the CMA to break up accountancy’s Big Four October 1, 2018 The UK’s competition body has been told to “bare its teeth” and investigate breaking up the Big Four accountancy firms, as it prepares to announce a decision on whether it will investigate the sector. Three senior politicians from across the main parties have called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to find ways to [...]
Hedgies and pollsters: Let’s keep a level head September 28, 2018 In the run-up to the EU referendum Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson railed against hedge funds that were using private polling to inform their trading positions. “I hope the government will put measures in place to prohibit this avaricious plan by financiers to benefit from information that belongs to every voter,” Watson said at [...]
Serco’s share price soars after forecasting a sunny future with raised profit guidance September 28, 2018 Shares at Serco soared almost 15 per cent in early morning trading, as the outsourcing giant trumped City expectations after lifting its full-year profit guidance. The FTSE 250 group said it now expects underlying trading profit between £90-£95m, marking a stark rise from the previous estimates of around £69.8m reported last year. Shares jumped more than 14 per [...]
Taxpayers to foot £65m bill from Carillion redundancies September 25, 2018 Taxpayers are set to cough up £65m in redundancy payouts following the collapse of outsourcer giant Carillion. The liquidated construction services company, which bucked under the weight of a £1.5bn debt pile in January, has so far paid out £50m of the total £65m after thousands of workers were made redundant. The figures also [...]
Labour mulls break-up of Big Four accountancy firms September 21, 2018 The Labour party is weighing up radical plans to break up the Big Four accountancy firms, amid mounting pressure on the UK’s scandal-hit auditors. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell vowed to end what he described as a “cartel” among the country’s largest bean counters in the run-up to his party conference this weekend. “They have demonstrated [...]