Late payments: Public sector outsourcers fail to pay cash-strapped suppliers for six weeks January 14, 2019 The government’s most frequently-used outsourcers took more than six weeks on average to pay their suppliers in 2017, 11 per cent longer than two years earlier, data published today reveals. Many of these suppliers are small businesses operating with a limited cash cushion, meaning late-paying clients could easily wipe out their short term liquidity or [...]
Fund manager Neil Woodford leads push to oust top Kier Group executives January 13, 2019 Leading fund manager Neil Woodford is leading a push to unseat construction group Kier’s top executive team after its botched rights issue, according to reports. Woodford Investment Management, which owns a 16 per cent stake in Kier, is leading a push to replace chief executive Haydn Mursell and finance director Bev Dew, Sky News reported [...]
Mark Kleinman’s big predictions for the Square Mile in 2019 January 11, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP exit, Unilever’s HQ U-turn, Melrose’s swoop for GKN: 2018 was a year full of surprises in the City. And while forecasting might be a fool’s errand, here are 10 predictions for the year ahead. •Theresa May will decisively lose next week’s “meaningful vote” on Brexit: that’s not a punt that will [...]
Short sellers release pressure on construction outsourcing giant Kier Group January 9, 2019 A period of sustained pressure from short sellers on contractor Kier Group has come to an end, with hedge funds cashing out on the company's stock market woes throughout December. At the end of November, 13.98 per cent of Kier’s shares – worth £102m – were held by short sellers betting against the company. That [...]
From Carillion to Connaught, here are four clues that a company is tipped for disaster January 8, 2019 It is said that we learn as much from failure as we do from success. This is just as true in investing as in life: we can learn from the struggles of companies that have gone bust, as well as those that have survived. While there are tell-tale signs that a company’s share price is [...]
Cabinet Office fails to meet its own late payment targets despite private sector crackdown January 7, 2019 The Cabinet Office has missed its own targets on paying invoices on time for more than a year, despite imposing tough new rules on its own contractors who pay suppliers late. New data shows the department, which has promised to pay 80 per cent of invoices in five days and the remaining 20 per cent [...]
Watchdog plans for audit sector shake-up set to draw backlash from businesses January 6, 2019 Finance bosses at some of Britain’s largest FTSE companies are set to hit out at new proposals put forward by the UK’s competition regulator, it emerged this evening. Plans by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to make publicly listed firms appoint two sets of auditors are expected to receive a harsh backlash from a [...]
Carillion bosses face fresh questioning from Insolvency Service 11 months on from dramatic collapse December 30, 2018 Carillion’s former bosses were hauled in front of Insolvency Service investigators at the start of December to answer questions about its collapse according to reports. Philip Green, chairman of the company when it went bust in mid-January, and ex-chief executive Richard Howson, could face bans from taking boardroom positions for up to 15 years. Sky [...]
Interserve agrees key terms of rescue deal with lenders and is considering handing off building materials unit to lenders December 21, 2018 Interserve has agreed on the key terms of a rescue deal with its lenders and is still considering a debt-for-equity swap by handing off subsidiary RMD Kwikform to the holders of its debt. The British business support services provider said on Friday that its rescue plan will see a big part of the company’s £500m debt converted into [...]
Kier leads the FTSE’s morning fallers after investors shun call for cash December 20, 2018 Shares in outsourcing group Kier fell by almost 15 per cent as markets opened this morning, after the firm revealed that investors only bought 38 per cent of the new shares it had issued as part of a fundraising effort. Kier announced last month that it would turn to the market in a heavily-discounted share [...]