Deloitte is gearing up to match its Big Four rivals, after the firm confirmed it is in talks with the Solicitors Regulation Authority over an application for an alternative business structure (ABS) licence which would allow it to offer legal services

A fifth of firms currently paying the apprenticeship levy plan to write it off to tax, rather than provide apprenticeships, and more than half want it replaced with a training levy, according to a survey by CIPD which identified widespread dissatisfaction with the way the levy operates

Mark Boughey and Matthew Wild, partners from RSM Restructuring Advisory have been appointed joint administrators of the south west-based hotel operator Richardson Hotels Ltd and Fowey Hotel Ltd, both of which form part of the Richardson Group of hotels

EY Ireland has acquired DKM Economic Consultants, the firm’s first ever acquisition in Ireland, in a bid to extend the firm’s economic advisory services

Upmarket chain Byron Hamburgers Ltd has announced a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposal to be handled by KPMG as part of a financial restructuring that is likely to see it close up to 20 branches in a bid to cut rental costs

British Airway’s decision to close the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) raises the risk of defined benefit pension liabilities and highlights the problems with a focus on dividend policy, warns Anne-Marie Winton, partner at ARC Pensions Law LLP

FTSE 250 building products supplier SIG, which is a leading distributor of specialist building products in Europe, has said it is to review the controls around cheque issuance after a historical overstatement of cash and trade payables resulted in higher closing net debt for 2017

One of the main reasons for the lack of women in senior roles across the financial services sector is due to a small talent pool, a partner from PwC has told the Treasury Committee, with calls for firms to be tracked and held accountable on their gender diversity progress

Top 50 firm Bishop Fleming has announced Andrew Sandiford as its new managing partner as part of enhancements to the management structure of the business, which has expanded significantly in recent years

A failed theatre production company which collapsed just before Christmas, ending plans for a nationwide tour of a musical starring celebrity tenor Russell Watson as the voice of God, could owe creditors as much as £2.6m, liquidators from Quantuma report

Nine companies which claimed to provide services to directors of insolvent companies, have been placed in provisional liquidation following an investigation by the company investigations unit of the Insolvency Service

Rapid increases in national minimum wage (NMW) rates could result in more jobs becoming automated, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which warns that government should look closely at the potential unintended consequences of rising wage rates for the lower paid workforce