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Fraud breaks £1bn barrier in 6 months

Recession exposes fraud while regulators are poised to pounceThe growth of fraud in the UK continues unabated according to BDO LLP’s six monthly update on reported fraud entitled “FraudTrack”. For the first six months of this year fraud losses rocketed to £1.06bn and eclipsed previous half year figures and were almost the same as for the whole of 2008. This is the first time fraud levels have soared above the £billion barrier during the interim period in the seven years BDO has been conducting its market leading survey. The average value of a single fraud has also increased to almost £6m,

Freefalling business confidence paves way for downwards growth revision

Talk of cuts provokes record fall in optimismNew findings from the latest BDO Business Trends report add to the pressure on the new Office of Budget Responsibility to dramatically lower government growth forecasts. BDO, believes that 2011’s growth forecasts now need to be revised down to between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent from the 3.0 to 3.5 per cent proposed by the last government. With the new body poised to announce its first forecasts later today (14 June), the report from accountants and business advisors BDO LLP shows a sharp drop in business confidence. The BDO Optimism Index has plummeted

A ‘Loch Ness Monster-shaped’ recovery is predicted

Business chiefs and leading futurologist meet to examine region’s economic prospects and to mark the release of the Central South Report 2010 – the third annual analysis of the region’s top 150 companiesOver 100 of the region’s top business leaders met at a dinner last week to take a dramatic ‘trip to the future’ and discuss the region’s economic prospects. The dinner, to celebrate the third Central South Report from business advisors and accountants BDO LLP in Southampton, was held at New Place, a Grade 1 listed manor house near the market town of Wickham. The evening’s keynote speaker was

ARM reveal new image to take on “the war for talent”

Specialist recruitment consultancy looks to add to their professional team to manage further growth with Open Evenings in Southampton and PortsmouthAdvanced Resource Managers (ARM) announced the relaunch of their brand to reflect their status as a fast growth business and leading employer in the Hampshire area. As organisations across the UK face a war for talent, ARM are looking to further expand their successful team and will be holding an open evening in the centre of Southampton on 24th May and in Portsmouth on 27th May. Speaking about the new brand, Managing Director Mike Gawthorne

UK REIT Rules Relaxed to Allow Stock Dividends

The Government yestersday (24 March 2010) announced a measure to allow UK Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) to issue stock dividends in lieu of cash dividends when meeting the 90 per cent distribution requirement. A group which has elected to join the UK-REIT regime is exempt from corporation tax on profits and gains arising to its ‘property rental business’. In order to be within the regime, the UK-REIT needs to meet a number of complex conditions including distributing 90 per cent of its property rental income to shareholders. UK-REIT shareholders are taxed on the distributions as

BUDGET MARCH 2010: Tax Avoidance – Complexity is not the answer

The Chancellor announced a raft of measures with the stated aim of protecting the tax system. In addition to further measures targeting failures to declare offshore income, there is a package of new rules to close loopholes and tackle arguably aggressive tax planning which HMRC perceive to be abusive. Stuart Lisle, Tax Partner at BDO LLP in Southampton commented: "All Budgets, whatever the political colour of the Chancellor, contain a swathe of so-called anti-avoidance provisions recommended by HMRC and this year proved no exception. Despite the stress Alistair Darling placed upon these

Looking Forward to the Post Election Summer Budget

Stuart Lisle, Tax Partner at BDO LLP in Southampton comments: "The principal theme of this, and almost all pre-election budgets, was the Chancellor's understandable wish to avoid own goals. Nevertheless, the absence of some measures amounts to additional stealth taxation and other measures have probably merely been delayed to the inevitable post-Election Summer Budget. “So far as stealth taxes are concerned, the Chancellor has failed to index the personal allowances for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. The effect of this will be to increase the tax burden for taxpayers in

Stamp Duty boost for first time buyers as £1m home purchases are clobbered

From midnight tonight first time buyers will no longer be required to pay the 1 per cent stamp duty land tax charge on residential property purchases of less than £250,000. This will be an immediate tax saving of £1,250 on a property bought for £249,999 as the previous threshold was £125,000. This measure is partly funded by a new 5 per cent rate for residential properties above £1,000,000. However, Treasury figures show that this will only recoup £70 million compared to the £290 million annual cost of the relief for first time buyers. Stuart Lisle, Tax Partner at BDO LLP in Southampton

Chancellor In CGT Rate Quandary

In the context of a Budget that is ‘giving away’ approximately £1.4 billion in 2010-11, the Chancellor’s announcement today (24 March 2010) that he is doubling the amount of lifetime gains qualifying for the 10 per cent rate of capital gains tax to £2 million was an inexpensive giveaway, as it is forecast to cost the Government only £5 million in 2010-11. Stuart Lisle, Tax Partner at BDO LLP in Southampton commented: “I welcome the Entrepreneurs' relief change because it recognises that creating successful new businesses is the lifeblood of the economy. However, the gulf between the 50 per

Thomas Eggar looks to the future with Business Southampton

Law firm sponsors “Future Southampton” conference and offers the latest commercial and technology industry advice for growing local businessesThomas Eggar LLP, a leading Southern law firm, has confirmed they are the main sponsor of this year’s Business Southampton Conference on 16th March. The conference proved a natural fit with Thomas Eggar LLP as a leading provider of commercial legal services in the region, as it has a forward thinking approach with a theme of “Future Southampton” and a keynote speech to be delivered by UK Business Ambassador Lord Digby Jones Kt. Speaking about the

Threat of twin peak inflation poses the real risk to recovery

Politicians urged to provide clarity on fiscal plansAmid mounting concerns of a double dip recession, the economy is also under threat from ‘twin peaks’ in inflation, warns the latest Business Trends report by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP in Southampton. The BDO Inflation Index rose from 99.2 to 100.2, reaching its highest level since December 2008, indicating that prices will remain high in the medium term. Inflation is expected to drop back down to 2009 levels. However, if policy makers continue to delay setting out a clear path for both monetary and fiscal policy, there is a

Sailors’ Society honours IMO Year of the Seafarer

Global charity embraces International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) initiative to offer greater support to the world’s invisible workforceInternational maritime welfare charity the Sailors’ Society is backing the IMO Year of the Seafarer campaign with a new fundraising drive asking for just £1 for every seafarer the charity aims to support in 2010 – that’s 375,000 seafarers. In announcing 2010 as the Year of the Seafarer, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos - himself a former seafarer - stated: “Seafarers deserve respect and recognition: let us resolve, during 2010, to ensure that

Don’t Pin Hopes on a Property Recovery Yet, says BDO LLP

BDO LLP in Southampton looks at the latest commercial property market dataAlthough the UK property market showed signs of a recovery towards the end of 2009, it is still too soon to expect that recovery to continue in 2010, according to the latest edition of the Commercial Real Estate Review by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. Although the number of commercial transactions increased during the year, experts say that several key underlying factors will continue to cause turbulence in the sector for much of the year. “Although we are seeing higher investment returns and a more

Sailors’ Society thanks Inchcape for continued support

International Seafarers’ charity grateful for corporate and individual fundraisingInternational seafarers’ charity the Sailors’ Society has thanked global shipping agent Inchcape for their continued support both on a corporate and individual level. Inchcape has been involved with a number of Sailors’ Society projects and events in recent months including the sponsorship of the running and upkeep of the Southampton minibus for two years. The minibus is seen as a valued resource for visiting seafarers who wish to visit the Sailors’ Society Seafarers’ Centre in the heart of the city, to

Fraud Breaks the £2billion Barrier according to BDO’s FraudTrack

London and South East see rapid increase in the last year, experts predict it is set to treble in the next three yearsReported fraud in the UK exploded in 2009 and broke the £2billion barrier for the first time according to new research from accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. The amount lost by businesses and the public sector to larger frauds increased last year by a startling 76 per cent during the recession, with both the number and size of frauds increasing dramatically. The report showed that larger frauds predominate on London and the South East, accounting for 77% of all

MANUFACTURERS FORECAST LONG SLOW HAUL TO RECOVERY

1.2% growth in 2010 as sectors diverge in prospects – EEF/BDO reportManufacturing in the south east will only see a muted recovery in 2010 before posting a stronger performance in 2011 on the back of export led growth, according to a major economic forecast published by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. The Economic Prospects 2010 report forecasts manufacturing will grow by 1.2% this year before picking up to 3.4% in 2011. But, the report also forecasts the performance of individual sectors is set to sharply diverge, with some enjoying

Unlock the hidden value in your intellectual property

In tough times you need to extract the maximum value out of everything you’ve got in your business. Thomas Eggar LLP, BDO LLP and Vertical Marketing have joined forces to run a series of informative FREE breakfast seminars across the South East region in January, offering business leaders valuable advice on how to make the most out of Intellectual Property (IP).In today’s knowledge economy, the importance of Intellectual Capital and Intellectual Assets has become a significant factor in determining the worth of a business. It has never been so important for companies to identify and manage

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