Industry news

Liberata, the business process innovation company, has announced that its contract with the London Borough of Bromley has been extended until March 2020. The extension, worth a potential £22m, will see Liberata continue to deliver and digitally transform a number of council services. Bromley has been working with Liberata since 2002 in services including, payroll, pensions and corporate customer services. As part of an ongoing digital transformation programme. Peter Turner, Director of Finance at Bromley Council, commented: “Liberata has demonstrated improved KPI performance and delivered significant savings, all while seeking to improve the experience for residents”. Charlie Bruin, CEO of Liberata, commented: “We are delighted to be extending our long-standing partnership with London Borough of Bromley – this is a great recognition of the high-quality and consistent performance we have delivered throughout”.

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Police may be given the power to delay Mergers and Acquisition activity for up to six-months under new proposals. Currently the police can suspend transactions for one month if suspicions are raised about a deal. “The new rules could be hugely damaging, in many cases, a delay of six-months will likely kill a deal entirely” said Barry Vitou, head of global corporate crime at Pinsent Masons.

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Prime Minister, Theresa May, will be heading to India in November in her first international trade mission, hoping that a number of deals will be signed. Indian PM, Narendra Modi, last year described the UK as an entry point for India into Europe, so Mrs May will have to reassure India that the UK leaving the EU is not a reason to limit ties. Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, will be hosting senior Chinese officials next month to discuss the economic and financial relationships between the two countries.

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Related news: UK and India Get Ready for Trade

The UK dropped out of businesses’ top 5 locations for investment according to Ernst & Young LLP, a consultancy. It’s the first time in 7 years Britain has not been in the top five as fears about Brexit have added to the complexity of international deals with the UK. Business leaders appear to be concerned about geopolitical issues such as the upcoming US election and the growth of nationalist governments worldwide, which is leading to a lot of volatility in FX markets.

Read more about EY's opinion on the post-Brexit economy.

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Airbus has slammed the Polish government after a reported 3.1-billion-euro deal to buy military helicopters was cancelled. The Polish government is now looking to US rival, Lockheed Martin to provide at least 21 Black Hawks prompting strong statements from Airbus chief executive, Tom Enders and Airbus Helicopter boss, Guillaume Faury. "Never have we been treated by any government customer the way this government has treated us," said Mr Enders. The Polish government have retorted that the deal fell through over a failure to agree on ‘an offset package’ however, French President, Francois Hollande has called off a visit to Warsaw on the news.

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Related news: Airbus Commits $2bn to Indian Outsourcing

Japanese electronics giant, Fujitsu has announced that 1,800 jobs will be lost in the UK as part of a ‘transformation programme’ that affects the companies European, Middle East, India and Africa Unit. Fujitsu said "These changes are in no way linked to the decision by the UK to leave the EU.” although the Japanese government had released a report in September warning the UK government against ‘Hard Brexit’ and other Japanese firms (notably Nissan) are looking for reassurances before further investment.

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Related news: Car Industry On the Move After Brexit

The Irish government has unveiled a Brexit proof budget to protect the Irish economy after its main trading partner, Britain, chose to leave the EU. The new budget includes measures to support exporters and protect the tourism industry. Both sectors have seen margins squeezed by the weaker pound and as the Irish Business and Employers Confederation said, the pound’s depreciation “puts thousands of export jobs at risk”. Many feel that the Irish government have not gone far enough with the 1.3-billion-euro package of tax cuts and spending, but there are concerns that the measure will break EU budgetary rules.

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Related news: Apple may be forced to pay billions of euros in back taxes

According to ComputerWeekly.com, many IT projects at the Ministry of Defence are on hold after IT contractors walked out over a dispute in their tax status. The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), responsible for the collection and supply of hydrographic and geospatial data to the Royal Navy has very limited IT staff after contractors walked out. The dispute is centred on whether contractors are eligible to be taxed under controversial rules known as IR35. The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE), which represents around 26,000 public sector off-payroll workers, is known to have written to the UKHO in June about the issue.

Read more here.

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The Pound continued a downward trend last night, slipping to $1.21 in US trading. Worries about hard Brexit led to the four-day rout of the pound on global markets as traders worried about the general management of the UK economy in the approach to Brexit negotiations. However, some good news emerged this morning as the pound rallied on news British MP’s will be allowed some debate on the Brexit process. The pound will continue to remain volatile in the short to medium term as it tries to find natural level.

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Related news: Brexit News Round-Up

According to a report by insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, nearly 100,000 businesses have been pushed to financial distress by the introduction of the national living wage. The number of firms struggling financially has increased 23% since the living wage was introduced six months ago with almost a third of struggling firms being retailers. Retailers are trying to find ways to adapt to the new laws by increasing prices and reducing profits and staff benefits.

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