Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) auditor: It wasn’t our job to spot fraud. The long-term auditors of collapsed chain Patisserie Valerie have been castigated for claiming they are “not set up” to spot fraud. Grant Thornton chief executive David Dunckley told an influential committee of MPs that “audit fundamentally gives a reasonable opinion on historic information, and doesn’t look for fraud”. There is a “clear expectation gap” between what the public thinks auditors’ role is and what their responsibilities actually are, he told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
Barclays ‘cannot wait any longer’ to trigger €190bn Brexit plan. Barclays (BARC) is triggering plans to shift £166bn (€190bn) worth of assets into its Irish subsidiary as it “cannot wait any longer” on the Brexit negotiations. The UK banking giant is shifting the “huge” amount of money – a sizeable chunk of its £1.2tn worth of assets – due to the political uncertainty, court filings show. “Due to the continuing uncertainty over whether there might be a no-deal Brexit, the Barclays Group has determined that it cannot wait any longer,” a High Court judgment reveals.
Staffline Group (STAF) shares suspended in wake of unexplained delay to results. Shares in one of Britain’s biggest recruitment firms were suspended on Wednesday after crashing when the company said it was delaying its annual results without giving any reason. In a brief stock market announcement, Staffline said it was putting back the publication, which had been due on Wednesday morning, to an unspecified date and would “provide a further update as soon as possible”. A spokesman declined to elaborate on the reason for the delay. The news sent Staffline’s Aim-listed shares tumbling by a third to 672p, a low not seen since early 2014, before they were suspended on Wednesday afternoon.
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) axes another 500 jobs in digital push. Britain’s biggest high street bank Lloyds will axe hundreds more jobs as it pushes ahead with a £3bn scheme to offer more digital services. The bank, which has shrunk its workforce in recent years and cut more than a thousand roles in 2018, said on Wednesday that it was shedding another 490 jobs. The latest round of losses will be offset by the creation of 220 new roles, the lender said, meaning 270 staff will lose their jobs. It insisted the “new roles, and the significant up-skilling of our colleagues” form part of a wider £3bn plan to invest in digital skills.
Barclays banker joked Qatar payment was a ‘bung’, court told. A senior Barclays (BARC) banker joked with lawyers that a £322m fee paid to Qatari investors during the financial crisis was a “bung”, a jury was told. Edward Brown QC, acting for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said Richard Boath, Barclays’ former head of financial institutions in Europe, suggested all the defendants knew that so-called advisory services agreements were being used to hide extra fees to Qatar.
Medco finally wins over Ophir with £390m takeover bid. Ophir Energy (OPHR) has agreed to a £390m takeover by Indonesia oil giant Medco Energi in the hopes of creating a southeast Asian oil giant. The London-listed company urged its shareholders accept the offer after Medco agreed to raise the sale price by £30m. The deal emerged after Ophir’s board threatened last month to walk away from the takeover talks because Medco had hoped to pay just 48.5p a share for the company. Bill Schrader, chairman of Ophir, said the agreed 55p a share price “delivers upfront value in cash” at a 67% premium to its market close at the end of last year.
Questor: this trust offers a 5.4% yield, the prospect of dividend rises and a discount of 7.7%. The experienced managers of Urban Logistics REIT Plc (SHED) invest in the warehouses that make online shopping possible
