Whitehall ploughs one-third of annual budget into outsourced services, despite ongoing financial misery of the sector December 11, 2018 Whitehall could not abandon the outsourcing of public services even if politicians wanted to because it costs so much, according to research. The government ploughs £284bn – almost one-third of its overall budget – into work done by external suppliers every year, think tank Institute for Government (IfG) said today. The huge outlay is despite the [...]
Can Interserve clean up its mess, or is it destined for the same fate as its failed rival Carillion? December 11, 2018 It feels like we’ve been here before, doesn’t it? It was almost a year ago when outsourcing giant Carillion collapsed, and now there are some worrying signs that rival FTSE firm Interserve could wind up suffering the same fate, serving a huge blow to UK businesses and the livelihoods of its 75,000 employees. On Sunday [...]
Interserve share price plummets as it admits rescue refinancing plan December 10, 2018 Interserve's shares more than halved today after the outsourcer confirmed it was in rescue refinancing talks with lenders as it battles a £650m debt pile. The embattled public sector outsourcing giant admitted at the weekend it was “engaged in constructive discussions regarding the agreement and implementation of a deleveraging plan”, causing a 53 per cent [...]
Debate: Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? December 7, 2018 Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? Yes – Jordan Marshall is policy development manager at IPSE. SMEs represent 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses. Included in this figure are 4.8m self-employed people – the UK’s smallest enterprises. A report from MPs this week exposed the shoddy practices of [...]
Big Four firm KPMG comes through bruising year with strong set of results December 5, 2018 Big Four audit firm KPMG has pushed past the fallout from the collapse of outsourcer Carillion to deliver strong revenue and profit growth. The UK arm of the firm boosted revenue eight per cent to £2.338bn and underlying profit 18 per cent to £356m in the year to 30 September. The strong growth comes despite [...]
Outsourcers’ woes continue as construction giant Kier Group braces for potential drop from FTSE 250 December 4, 2018 The beleaguered UK outsourcing industry could suffer another blow in coming days with construction giant Kier Group looking set to drop from the FTSE 250 index. Kier’s stock was down another eight per cent this morning as the spectre of Wednesday’s round of FTSE index relegations and promotions loomed. Morning Wire understands Kier is one of several [...]
Whitehall tells late payment outsourcers to ‘clean up their act’ or face not winning public contracts November 29, 2018 Government contractors who do not pay suppliers on time could be prevented from winning public contracts altogether, Whitehall has said. Cabinet Office (CO) minister Oliver Dowden announced the crackdown this morning, which will see serial slackers on supplier payments forced to “clean up their act” or face being prevented from winning new contracts from Autumn 2019. [...]
Patisserie Valerie searching for new auditor November 27, 2018 Patisserie Holdings, the parent firm of embattled cafe company Patisserie Valerie, has begun hunting for a new auditor to replace its under-fire accountant Grant Thornton. The bakery chain is in talks to find a successor to Grant Thornton, according to Sky News, days after the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was probing the beancounter over [...]
KPMG faces tribunal for its work for mattress firm Silentnight November 22, 2018 Audit firm KPMG and one of its partners face a tribunal over work for mattress firm Silentnight, the accountancy watchdog said today. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today delivered a formal complaint against the firm and restructuring partner David Costley-Wood. The FRC alleged that KPMG and Costley-Wood acted for Silentnight “in circumstances where their professional judgment [...]
This government will use free enterprise as a force for good November 20, 2018 Last week, Cabinet Office staff visited a company called Clarity, a soap-making social enterprise established in 1845. In addition to sampling some of the excellent soap they supply to our department, they met the employees who make their products, all of whom have disabilities or long-term health conditions. Clarity is deeply committed to supporting and [...]