Weekly Wrap Up: From Rags to riches… ‘The Car’ has fallen…

The current slogan for Volkswagen is “Das Auto”, the English translation of which is “The Car”.  This may seem to be a bold tagline, however if anyone could pull it off, it would be VW. That is, until a few weeks ago. Volkswagen Group, the parent company of Volkswagen, is the second biggest car manufacturer in the world, behind General Motors, owning and producing some of the most globally recognised brands, including Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley.  Ultimately, with such a broad reach the emissions scandal that erupted within Volkswagen a few weeks ago was going to have broad ramifications.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had software installed in diesel engines that detected when the engine was being tested and adjusted the performance to improve results, creating emissions figures completely unconnected to reality.  This was perhaps particularly grating in the US as VW had gone on a charm offensive for the fuel and  according to the BBC, the primary focus of the campaign had been the benefits of diesel’s low emissions. 

So how did Volkswagen handle the scandal initially? 

Initially, the scandal was handled quite well.  The Guardian reported that Martin Winterkorn, the then CEO of Volkswagen Group had apologised stating that Volkswagen was “endlessly sorry” and Michael Horn, CEO of the US arm of the business similarly acknowledged that Volkswagen  had “totally screwed up”. There appeared to be a united front in the VW camp, however, from this position of strength, the story quickly unravelled.  Winterkorn was forced to deny rumours that he was set to be replaced by Porsche chief Matthias Müller, however, a few days after the scandal broke the rumours were proven true as Winterkorn was indeed replaced with Müller.  On the other side of the pond Michael Horn is clinging to his job, when, from the Company’s perspective, it might have been better for him to fall on his sword.   As details of the scandal emerged, VW fronted up, and admitted that in fact 11 million cars could have been affected not the lesser figure of almost 500,000, as outlined in the EPA report.

The Company, initially, appeared to get ahead of the scandal and be upfront about mistakes, potentially garnering some positive public opinion.  However this was quickly lost, as more details of the scandal emerged and the initial response seemed to no longer be up to scratch, and instead reflected at worst deception and at best that those at the top were out of touch with their own organisation.  VW has lost nearly €30 billion off its market cap since the scandal emerged, and has set aside €3.7bn to cover costs.  As a result, the Company has posted its first quarterly loss for 15 years of €2.5bn.  As the scandal has gone global, The Telegraph reported that 1.2 million cars in the UK were fitted with the illegal emissions-cheating software.  And now a fresh scandal appears to be brewing, as a poll of 2,000 of the affected drivers revealed 90% of them believed they were entitled to compensation, whilst Paul Willis VW’s UK boss has said that it is “premature” to talk about refunds.  In addition the German government is now urging the car giant to retest all of its vehicles in order to clear up the scandal – the dramatic fall in the VW share price has pushed down the entire German market forcing the government to get involved.  Finally, it was hoped that Matthias Muller’s appointment from Porsche would be untainted by the scandal, however, as new details of the crisis emerge it is clear that Porsche is also affected.  According to Reuters, up to 800,000 cars sold in Europe could be affected by the deception.

Ultimately the full repercussions of the VW scandal are as yet unknown.  It is unclear whether the brand has been irreparably damaged or if it will recover over time.  One thing is for certain, it is a long road for Volkswagen to get back to its pre-crisis share price of €134.81. At its lowest point, so far, during the crisis the share price was €68.51, with more loses predicted.  From all this, we can see that VW have produced neither the “people’s car” or even “the car”, they have created a situation from which it may never fully recover.

Last week, Abchaps hosted a market lunch, where topics from opportunities in the standard listing market and cyber security issues were discussed. We also met with Arden Partners at our offices, and enjoyed canapes and drinks with the team by the end of the week.   



Last week Nathalie Merrens was appointed as head of investment solutions for its private office, she joins from Kleinwort Benson with over 25 years’ experience in financial services having held roles at Citibank and UBS wealth management.

Allianz gain a Director in Tim Bird, he will be directing their UK institutional sales and client services team and joins from the institutional relationship management team. At T Rowe Price. Bird has also held roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, HSBC Asset Management and Mercury Asset Management.


Law firm Clyde & Co have appointed Mark Sutton as senior equity partner in its professional and financial disputes group. Mark has over 15 years’ experience, and specialises in large claims against directors, banks, corporate trustees, Lloyd’s brokers, financial advisers, fund managers, stock brokers, accountants and corporate services providers.




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Weekly Wrap Up: TalkTalk couldn’t walk the walk

“We're currently making security enhancements to our website, which should be back online soon.”

This is the message that you are greeted with on the website for one of the world’s biggest telecoms group, TalkTalk PLC. On Thursday 21 October the news broke that police had commenced a criminal investigation into the cyber-attack on TalkTalk, leaving 4.2million customers’ details including contact numbers and payment information exposed. However, the Company managed to disclose the news 24 hours after they had been made aware. The share price subsequently nosedived 10 per cent as further revelations were disclosed with regards to exactly what and who had been effected and statements from CEO Dido Harding claiming ”stolen customer data may not have been securely encrypted” did little to keep their head above water.

Would the graph look so similar if the company had developed a better, more stringent crisis communications strategy? Looking at Fig.1 the share price dipped during August. This depicts one of the two previous data breaches that the Company suffered and had this not been dismissed as a ‘blip’ then potentially the topography of this share graph would tell a different story.

Crisis communications, if not a desired consideration, should be ready and waiting in reserve to protect your company from any future bad news or operating faults, that you can respond in the most efficient, transparent and effective way to uphold your reputation as well as the safety of your customers and shareholders. Information security consultant Paul Moore rightly so states that ‘more worrying than the breach itself, had been TalkTalk's response to it’. There is a key to addressing the many communications issues related to crisis and disaster, of which TalkTalk have not handled correctly:

1. Anticipation of crisis:

Problem: TalkTalk had previously become exposed to data hacking and therefore should have placed measures to not only protect networks but individual data

It is not a matter of if it is a matter of when, cyber security especially is a must for companies storing the details of consumers, preparation is key.

2. Assessing the risks:

Problem: TalkTalk claim that they are unsure as to whether the data of customers bank details were encrypted, as confirmed by the broadband provider

With the level of technology available a company must have access to analogous detail, this is a good message to send to your shareholders if not your customers.

3. Communication and notification:

Problem: The lag time in notification from security breach to announcing this to their customers. People were left puzzled as to why the website was ‘closed for maintenance’ on Wednesday morning.

How will your news be shared with investors and/or the public, the quicker and more direct the better. Trust is based on communication and evidently leaving your investors and customers in the dark can break that trust.

4. Evaluation and analysis:

Problem: TalkTalk failed to learn from previous crisis: fail to plan - plan to fail

After the smoke clears revise the reaction and handling to secure your anticipation methods, think of the crisis as a vaccination, you come out stronger.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing however in the business world companies like TalkTalk cannot afford to simply tape up holes in the structure of their strategy of crises management.

Specifically cyber intelligence is advancing faster than some companies can develop their defenses, both systematically and managerially there is a drive to evolve rapidly to build resistance for the future and crisis. If a company can develop and format a clear and concise crisis management scheme then it should in theory be ahead of the game and ‘hacking’ can return to Horse and Hound.




This week, Abchaps hosted a market lunch, where respective opportunities in the M&A and IPO markets, as well as issues surrounding diversity in the City, were discussed. Our CEO Julian Bosdet also attended a dinner hosted by Nabarro to discuss the development of AIM.



KPMG has appointed Catherine Grum as its Head of Family Office. She joins from Salamanca Group where she was Managing Director and Head of the Private Office. Daniel Williams has been appointed global head of internal audit at the IG Group, having previously been head of internal audit for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BGC Partners. Finally, Macquarie Investment Management appointed Gillian Evans as head of UK institutional distribution. She joins after 10 years at Goldman Sachs.



“Blip” - an unexpected, minor, and typically temporary deviation from a general trend.



Fed up with Halloween already? On Saturday, Regent Street’s sweep from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford will be filled with bumper to bumper cars as the UK’s largest free-entry motoring show rolls into town. Containing vehicles of all ages and abilities, from veteran cars straight out of period dramas to racing and eco automobiles, this year’s showstopper will include Aston Martin’s bespoke DB10, created especially for the new Bond film ‘Spectre’, of which only 10 were made for filming, out of which only 3 survived.

If you happen to be a car fanatic, the following day (Sunday 1 November).some of the classic cars involved will assemble again, early in the morning in Hyde Park, before setting off to Brighton for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. This annual event began in 1896 when the law requiring motorists to have a man bearing a red flag preceding their cars was abolished. Car owners celebrated by destroying their flags and setting off for Brighton in the 'Emancipation Run'. The first organised run took place in 1993 and today the event attracts owners of veteran cars built pre-1905 from all over the world.

Christmas really is approaching as the Oxford Street Christmas lights are switched on this Sunday. The Oxford Street Christmas lights will see 1778 snowball-like decorations (and their 750,000 LED lightbulbs) lit up once again for what is the fifty-sixth year the road has been decorated for the festive period. In a subtle upgrade from last year's display, 445 new golden baubles will twinkle among the existing silver lights. Kylie Minogue will do the honours, and a stage outside the Pandora Marble Arch store will host live musical performances and celebrity presenters from 5.30pm including Foxes, Fleur East, Gabrielle Alipin, ‘X-Factor’ winner Ben Haenow and performers from ‘Matilda the Musical’.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Please don’t increase my wage

The honeymoon appears to be over for the newly elected Conservative government. After basking in the glow of an unexpected majority win in the recent elections, the UK’s Tories have become caught up in a media firestorm - although it may not be one they could have avoided.

Before the election, David Cameron had described a 10% pay increase for MP’s – from £67 060 to £74 000 – as unacceptable. And on the surface, it does look bad for a government that is rumoured to be planning an additional £12 billion in welfare cuts to bump up their own pay. But the government has little choice when it comes to the pay rise – it’s decided by an independent body.

Nevertheless, in the UK media, taxpayer money is a hot button issue. Just ask the banks that received bailout money: banker’s salaries and bonuses have come under intense scrutiny and the media likes to suggest that taxpayer money is being used to pay for them. And there’s no class discrimination when it comes to receiving a taxpayer funded salary: welfare recipients who are deemed to be receiving too many benefits are also popular subjects in some major UK publications.

The lesson here is that when people are giving you their hard earned money they will want to know exactly what you are doing with it and why. This is as true for taxpayers as it is for shareholders. The unavoidable reality of increased scrutiny therefore requires increased transparency. Clearly communicating what is being done with the money and why will not only prevent the media from sensationalizing the story, it will also help win the trust of those who are providing the funds.

In the case of the MP pay rise, the government actually appears to be at least trying to do right by the taxpayer. Earlier this week a spokesperson explained that David Cameron could not do anything to prevent the pay rise. Ironically, the process of having an independent body decide on MP pay was put into place to prevent politicians from being paid excessive salaries on the taxpayer dime. Downing Street has followed this explanation with a letter to the authority that decides on MP pay to appeal the increase. At the very least, Downing Street has attempted to show that they are trying to protect taxpayer money.

So while most people living in UK would be thrilled to get a 10% wage increase, for politicians that extra money is likely not worth the public backlash – especially since after tax that £7000 won’t go very far for MP’s based in London.



This week, Abchaps attended the Watson Farley & Williams Commodities Summer Reception at The Salt Point Bar and the London Stock Exchange Summer Advisory Drinks at the Marchant Taylors’ Hall, where we caught up with lots of familiar faces. We also hosted a market lunch that discussed various topical subjects affecting the IPO market.



EY appointed Klaus Woeste, of KPMG, as a Partner and Head of the HR advisory team in its financial services human capital practice. Andrew Charnley joined Lloyds Bank’s Global Transaction banking business as Regional Head of the Trade and Working Capital Team from Barclays. Lloyds also appointed Paul Smith, who has worked at the bank for over 31 years, as Head of Trade Finance. Finally Gareth Lewis joined PwC’s real estate practice as Director, moving from a consultant role at EY and the Urban Land Institute.



“Hot button issue” – an issue that elicits a strong emotional reaction, such as MP’s who receive a 10% pay increase while the wages of those who pay that salary stagnate.



Enjoy Sunset Safari, where London Zoo opens its doors until 10pm, allowing guests to witness nature whilst the sun goes down.

Polo in the Park returns to the Hurlingham Club in Fulham. Nothing gives better excuse to Champagne before lunch than polo, so enjoy the atmosphere as the England team plays its first match there since 1939.

Over in east London, Field Day marks the start of festival season, being held in Victoria Park. With names like Caribou, Clarence Clarity, and Django Django, this promises to see the season kick off in style.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Humility Before Profit

Could an incident that occurred a decade ago create more reputational damage now for the company involved than when the incident first occurred? This is arguably the case for Thomas Cook, who have been under immense pressure in recent weeks over their handling of the high-profile deaths of two children on holiday in Corfu in 2006.

The Independent’s view “a tragedy to a corporate disaster” has been widely voiced, with the public and media consensus being that Thomas Cook’s communications strategy is “too little too late”.

Timeline of events:

• April 2015 – Inquest begins into deaths of the Shepherd children.
• 13 May – Manny Fontenla-Novoa, CEO at the time of the tragedy, appears as a witness to the inquest but refuses to answer a series of questions. Peter Fankhauser, current CEO, tells inquest that Thomas Cook has done "nothing wrong". Inquest jury returns verdict of unlawful killing and says Thomas Cook "breached its duty of care".
• 17 May – Shepherd family reveals it received £350,000 in compensation from the hotel owners for their children’s deaths. It emerges later that day that the hotel paid Thomas Cook up to £3.5m in compensation.
• 18 May – Thomas Cook offers to pay compensation it received to Unicef and apologises to the family.
• 20 May – Fankhauser apologises to the family and says he is "deeply sorry".
• 21 May – Fankhauser meets with the parents face to face, giving a “sincere and heartfelt apology” and agrees to donate an undisclosed sum to six charities of the parents’ choice. In addition, the parents requested that the bungalow where the tragedy took place be demolished and replaced with a “lasting tribute” in the form of a playground.

Thomas Cook’s mistakes and subsequent quick fixes have caused immeasurable damage to the firm’s reputation and future value as they enter a crucial trading period. The Group would expect to be selling holidays to families gearing up for the summer break. Meanwhile, it has been reported that around £75m has been wiped off the company’s share price this week as investor’s dumped stock. Only time will tell whether the share price will recover. This will largely depend on any subsequent actions the Company take to stop the rot.

Fankauser has now done what his predecessor should have done back in 2006; given the parents a sincere apology.

Holly Ward, co-founder of The Forge commented: “As a nation we respond well to humility; even if Peter Fankhauser didn’t want to imply his company was to blame by offering an apology to the parents of Bobby and Christi Shepherd, a little humility would have gone a long way in showing his company actually cared. The Unicef donation smacked of a quick fix that missed its mark.”

The incident can serve as a lesson not only for Thomas Cook, but the majority of companies. Thomas Cook went far too much down the legal route, allowing its lawyers and bean counters to dictate how it dealt with a grieving family, instead of actioning a robust crisis communications plan, or having the inclination to do the right thing.

Julian Pike, Head of Reputation Management at Farrer & Co stated: “From the outset, Thomas Cook should have made the family its priority, irrespective of the legal advice or insurers' requirements. Its own financial wellbeing should also have come a long way second.”



This week, Abchaps hosted an Asia themed market lunch where economic opportunities in the region were explored and the potential impact on the London IPO market was discussed.



Andrew Penny joined EY from JP Morgan as Senior Advisor to its real estate corporate finance team; Judith Mackenzie, Partner at Acuity Capital and Senior Investment Manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Growth Capital, joined the board of Quoted Companies Alliance, whilst Kelly Tubman Hardy joined Hogan Lovells’ corporate practice in Baltimore from DLA Piper.



“Stop the rot”: to take action against something bad, before it spreads and becomes worse



If craft beer is your thing, head along to the Old Royal Naval College, and try over 80 different types of draft beer at Brewfest; Greenwich.

This weekend sees a particularly British pastime, with the Gloucestershire cheese rolling taking place, where you can throw yourself down a hill after Cheddar!

Finally, Kew Gardens is holding a Full of Spice festival, starting this weekend. With everything from a Strictly Spice dance-off to a pop up bar, this festival has everything.

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Weekly Wrap Up: The Biggest Loser this Election

Before the polls even opened on Thursday, there was already a clear loser in the UK general election: banks. Regardless of which party takes power, it seems that UK bank earnings are set to be hit by a wave of new legislation that could result in a rising bank levy, ring-fencing of operations, and even capping of retail banking market shares.

To be clear, banks and individual bankers whose recklessness and criminal behaviour precipitated the financial crisis deserved to be punished. And yes, the government should play a strong role in ensuring economic stability and therefore has to keep an eye on the financial industry.

Some proposed policies aimed at banks suggest politicians have become irrational. How, for example, would a Labour Party proposal to increase the bank levy to support free childcare have prevented the next financial crisis? Tory plans to use the money from fines to create apprenticeships also suggest politicians are simply using this money for political gain. It’s no wonder then that the Institute for Fiscal Studies recently felt compelled to warn politicians against treating banks like a “cash cow”.

But still, banks have been remarkably silent when it comes to defending themselves against political attacks in the post credit crunch era. This is particularly surprising because many politicians were themselves complicit in creating the conditions that led to the financial crisis.

So perhaps it’s time for banks to change their PR strategy and speak up. Already there are rumblings: The Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association was recently quoted in the Financial Times reminding politicians that “Banking is by far Britain’s leading export industry, and one of its biggest taxpayers, but…it is very internationally mobile.”

But instead of running away, as HSBC and Standard Chartered have threatened, it would be refreshing to hear more about the value that the financial industry brings to the UK and how banks are working to prevent further bad behaviour. After all, the staggering fines paid by banks since the financial crisis are not just the result of overzealous politicians on a witch hunt – banking culture was clearly dysfunctional pre crunch.

According to the FT, most bank bosses recognize that the industry is not doing enough to convince sceptics it has changed. Increased transparency would be a step in the right direction since it would prevent people from coming to their own conclusions, which has been mostly that banks are still up to no good.

So it’s time for the banks to take back control of the narrative. Until now, it may have been easier for banks to remain silent and for the public to hate them, but in reality if the financial industry continues to be a political target the biggest loser in this election will ultimately be the UK economy.



This week, Abchaps have been networking across the continent with our global partners at IPREX’s Annual Meeting in Berlin. We also met CMS Advisory over breakfast, discussing the ever increasing importance of social media in the City. Our Market Lunch series continued unabated; with this generalist lunch as the last held before the election, understandably, politics was at the forefront of the agenda.



Richard Hughes joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a Partner in its banking and finance practice, having previously worked with Simmons & Simmons. Alistair Mackenzie joined Associate Sales Director at UBS Global Asset Management, from Curzon Capital. Finally Cavendish Corporate Finance appointed Kate Gibbon, David Harris, Victoria Clarke, and Nathan Harroch into its Corporate Finance team.



The Saatchi Gallery the annual Contemporary Craft Fair ‘2015 edition’, presenting 35 international galleries showcasing the most exciting examples of applied arts craftsmanship.

To all you wannabe Sir Bradley Wiggins’ out there, SPIN London – The Urban Cycling Show celebrates the urban cycling scene with international brands and smaller independent makers in fixed gear, single speed, custom and BMX bikes in attendance as well as emerging cycle fashion brands, cyclic artwork, talks, demonstrations and workshops.

If you happen to be having a stroll with your dog on Hampstead Heath this Sunday, then why not enter The Great Hampstead Bark Off 2015? With a dog-themed-cake bake off, a dog show, and prizes awarded in categories like ‘cutest pup’ and ‘best rescue’. The event, in association with charity All Dogs Matter, will also give you the chance to meet some lovely mutts in need of a new home.

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Weekly Wrap Up: The £5bn tweet

Twitter got a taste of its own medicine this week when its first quarter earnings were leaked… via a tweet. Irony aside, this was no joke: it only took four tweets of 140 characters or less to wipe more than £5bn off of Twitter’s stock in the final hours of trading on Tuesday.

So how did Twitter become the victim of its own viral reach?

Twitter was supposed to announce its first quarter earnings after close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (where the company is listed). Unfortunately for Twitter, somebody at NASDAQ, which runs Twitter’s investor relations site, decided it would be a good idea to post the results early.

Posting the results two hours early on the investor relations website might not have been such a catastrophe if no one had noticed. But a financial data platform called Selerity uses automated technology to go through the various sources and detect important events for the markets. It’s known as data scraping and it has become a powerful tool for banks, hedge funds and proprietary trading firms – in other words, those trying to get an edge over the markets.

It wasn’t the first time Selerity struck – Microsoft is among their other victims – and it probably won’t be the last. And it isn’t just Selerity that leaks earnings – according to the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg journalists are known for trying to find corporate news releases early. All it takes is typing in the web address for a company’s earnings release and then adjusting the URL to change the number of the quarter. So it seems that this problem is quite preventable with a password, firewall, or even waiting to post the results.

What the leak meant for Twitter was that the Company didn't have the chance to present the results in a formal statement, which would have undoubtedly positioned them more favourably. There was certainly some positive news in the report: Twitter surpassed the 300 million active users mark for the first time. Instead, the bad news got out while markets were still trading and Twitter completely lost control of the narrative.

The Twitter debacle demonstrates the power and influence of social media in Financial PR and investor relations. It’s an excellent way to get good news out fast, but also difficult to control. After all, apparently not even Twitter itself can prevent damaging tweets.



As well as multiple sets of client results this week, Abchaps hosted a Technology themed Market Lunch this week where the discussion included cyber securtiy, and a sector generalist one.



Edison announced three UK equity analyst appointments: Neil Basten joins its industrials team from USS Investment Management; Lucy Codrington joins the healthcare team from SC Strategy, and Eric Opara joins the technology team from M&G Investment. Meanwhile Fidelity Worldwide Investment appointed Sajiv Vaid to its fixed income investment team as co-manager of the Fidelity MoneyBuilder Income and Fidelity Extra Income funds.



"Viral Reach" – The measurement of the number of people who saw or shared a tweet or social media post. A Tweet can now potentially reach over 300 million people - which Twitter learned the hard way is not always a good thing.



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Weekly Wrap Up: Flash Crash brings Fast Cash?

The City has been in the PR mire for some time. Since the financial crash, institutions and individuals have been scrambling to save face, only to be undermined by a stream of negative press.

This week, that negative press has been provided with the flash crash case of Navinder Singh Sarao. A self-employed day trader, he faces extradition charges to the US, where he is accused of playing a significant role in, momentarily, taking up to $1 trillion off Wall Street. In a 45 minute period, almost 1000 points were knocked from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the US’s premier exchange. The premise was simple, Sarao added sell orders which could be seen around the world, and caused others to add sell orders, panicking about a potential fall in their market. Following the cancellation of his orders, Sarao would then track the market down, and buy for supposed huge personal profits. This crime carries the potential for 380 years in prison, not something to be sniffed at.

In addition, Deutsche Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, accepted a record libor fine of £1.6 billion for its role in fixing international interest rates during 2005-2010. These two crimes accurately portray the various flaws in City institutions. Firstly, the ability to undermine and subvert the system, and secondly the damage that can be done to its image.

Having been caught on the back foot when the markets fell, the financial regulators have now taken the fight to the institutions, inflicting more stringent fines. However, more needs to be done. Whilst America can be seen setting a hardline with its sentencing, 150 years for Bernie Madoff springs to mind, the UK needs to work harder at finding those who have abused the system criminally guilty.

The banks themselves, seemingly reticent to move on from their glory years, need to be seen doing more in the public eye to clear up their act. Possibly fearful of their pariah status, heads of UK banks have been notable in their absence from British screens in the last seven years. It will take strong character, but to move past the current public perception, banks need to work as never before to root out those who are abusing the system, and prove to the country and the world that this vital part of our economy is worth sustaining.



This week, Abchaps hosted multiple events including two Market Lunches, one focused on Mining and the other focused on the Environment, whilst also entertaining Northland Capital, after successfully working on TechFinancials IPO together. We also met with Richard Dunnett of Director Magazine, in order to learn more about how the magazine operates; and attended the Entrepreneurs Breakfast, a joint initiative between Smith & Williamson and freshbusinessthinking.com, which brought together multiple entrepreneurs at breakfast with keynote speaker Christopher Baker-Brian.



N+1 Singer appointed Nic Hellyer as Director in its Corporate Finance team from HSBC, whilst Nicole Martin was hired as Audit Partner in BDO’s Technology and Media practice. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered appointed Sir Iain Lobban to the bank’s board Financial Crime Risk Committee.



“Flash Crash” – A word which has entered the lexicon as quickly as the crime was purported to take. Having taken five years to work out a potential culprit, one feels that we will be reminded of the flash crash for some time to come.



If you’re an athlete you might be heading to the London Marathon this weekend. But for the less active among us, you will probably want to avoid Central London.

For those not running, there’s still a chance to celebrate England’s Patron Saint this weekend: The Mayor of London's throwing a party in his honour at Trafalgar Square on both Saturday and Sunday, where Robbie Boyd is headlining from 4pm-5pm on Saturday.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Greece's communications strategy tragedy

Greece’s new left-wing government proved that they had the right message when it came to national voters after they won the January election. But when they used that same message to try and renegotiate the terms of their bailout, it quickly became a lesson in how to lose friends and alienate people for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Tspiras and Varoufakis entered bailout negotiations with all guns blazing, determined to end Greece’s “fiscal waterboarding”. As soon as they took office in January, they went out of their way to offend Germany, Greece’s biggest lender. Alex Tsipras’ first move after being sworn in as Prime Minister was to lay a wreath at a WWII memorial for Greeks killed by Nazis, in Greece, and Varoufakis brought up Nazism at a press conference during his first visit to Berlin. Apparently the saying, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” gets lost when translated into Greek.

But Greek politicians did not just ruffle German feathers – they have even managed to alienate potential allies.

Tspiras lashed out at Spain and Portugal, countries which have also been forced to implement austerity in return for bail-outs, publicly accusing the governments of forming an ‘anti-Athens axis’. Business Insider reports that this outburst led to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly pointing out that, "Greece has made its position worse with a rhetoric that is difficult for someone on the outside to understand."

This was certainly true for Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico, also an opponent of austerity, came out strongly against Greek demands to ease the terms of its bailout. Fico told the Financial Times, “It would be impossible to explain to the public that ‘poor’ Slovakia…should compensate Greece…for their salaries and pensions…” Greek politicians were demanding a minimum wage increase to about €750 per month as part of the renegotiations. The minimum wage in Slovakia is €380 per month.

The new Greek government has been good at one thing: proving the relevance of the communications industry. They managed to offend almost everyone and they never actually presented a clear strategy, which did not go unnoticed. This was perhaps best summed up by Schaeuble’s remark to reporters during the February bail-out negotiations, “None of my colleagues have understood so far what Greece really wants in the end. Whether Greece itself knows is also the question.”

Without clearly demonstrating how they could prevent history from repeating itself, the demand to get rid of austerity was doomed from the start. This message may have worked for the Greek voters but it certainly wasn’t the message that should have been conveyed to the people who have for the past five years been footing the bill for Greece’s previous welfare state spending binges.

The lesson here: know your audience and cater your messages accordingly. Whether that audience is voters and lenders or investors and the media, an effective communications strategy is incredibly valuable, while the absence of one can result in complete disaster.



This week Abchaps hosted two market lunches, one of which had a focus on Malaysia, where advisers discussed opportunities and sentiments towards Malaysian companies seeking an AIM admission. We also attended Gorkana PR’s breakfast briefing with CityAM where topics such as creativity and the greater influence of digital were discussed.



The broking, advisory and trading house Peel Hunt appointed Edward Knight as head of media in its corporate team. He has previously held senior positions at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, whilst Fabian Wallmeier joined Capital Group Fidelity.



Fiscal waterboarding: The Greek term used to describe austerity



At Abchurch, we’re keen on good graphic design. This weekend at protein Studios, see 100 years of graphic design in a single space, with everything from Polish cinema posters of the 1960s to the propaganda images of Latin American radicals.

For electronic fans, LEAF, the London Electronic Arts Festival, is a two day cultural celebration of electronic music, art, technology, and digital futurism. Forget the image of your wasted ‘90s, this event offers everything from contemporary cinema, to live music, to the sort of hedonistic rave that you thought you had left behind along with the day-glo paint.

Finally, if your perfect weekend consists of throwing paint at total strangers, look no further than Play Holi in the City. Organised by Cinnamon Kitchen, you can take part in centuries old festival of colours, safe in the knowledge that some of London’s finest Indian food will be following shortly afterwards. But don’t wear your Sunday best.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Cyber Abuse

Cyber abuse has become an ever growing problem that has mirrored the internet’s growth over the last decade. With the introduction and vast uptake of social media in recent years, cyber abuse has become a popular topic, prompting discussions on cyber bullying and trolling. This week, Twitter announced new anti-trolling tools in an attempt to combat online trolls. ‘Trolling’ is a description for when a user’s account or post (on Twitter, Facebook etc.) is bombarded with insults, provocations or threats. Cyber bullying sees the ‘traditional’ form of bullying (physical and mental abuse) move online. This has a number of consequences: The most obvious being that it's much harder to control, monitor and discipline those partaking in cyber bullying, particularly as cyber abuse is often faceless and nameless. This means that recipients often don't know who is attacking them over the World Wide Web.

The anonymity of cyber abuse intensifies the insults because abusers feel they have the autonomy to behave without repercussion. Would they say the things they do if they were standing in front of the individual they were abusing? The internet and social media has allowed individuals to connect with a much greater audience than ever before, connecting with people who you may never meet or see face to face. This therefore makes it easier to insult another individual via keyboard. It takes away individual responsibility for what a person says as well as and more importantly, the consequences it has to the individual or the group the insult is intended for.

This also ties in with the concept of gang culture. ‘Pack mentality’ is as equally apparent online as it is in real life. More people are likely to join in if one person starts abusing a group, product, person, video or picture. For example, where avid followers of a band or artist have been seen to attack (online) journalists or individuals simply because they criticise said band or artist. What makes this scenario more worrying is the age of the online abusers and some of the deviant phrases posted. So as much as the young can be the targets for cyber abuse, they can just as easily be the culprits.

However, cyber abuse is not limited to certain categories such as age or profession. It encompasses anyone who has access to the internet. Being a part of a social media platform will also increase an individual’s chance of being targeted. Twitter in particular, has broken down barriers in terms of the contactable audience, placing every member on an even playing field. An example of this is the constant abuse aimed at celebrities on Twitter. Celebrities were once seen (and still are in some cases) as ‘untouchables’ – someone who would never be in contact with the ‘average Joe’. But with the increasing popularity of Twitter, it has been seen as a way for celebrities to connect with their fan base and stay in the public eye. It is now far rarer for example to find a celebrity who isn’t on social media than one who is.

After Robin Williams’ (comedian and actor) death earlier this year, his daughter Zelda Williams was driven to delete twitter after the intense online harassment she suffered following the suicide of her father (at least two people sent her “photoshopped” images claiming to show her father’s body). A more recent example occurred last month: Olympic gold medallist Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill received death threats via Twitter, after she said she would request her name to be removed from a stand at Sheffield United if it offered a new contract to convicted rapist Ched Evans. These are extreme examples of how easily anyone can be reached and targeted by online abuse with the even more troubling question remaining – can anything be done about it?

Twitter’s new anti-trolling tools announced this week is a good step towards abolishing internet trolls and bullies. Now a user can simply now click on a tweet and select ‘block or report’, then click through a list of reasons explaining why they wish to do this. The previous system meant the person had to fill out a report describing the alleged harassment. Users witnessing abuse will now also be able to report it. Twitter has improved their behind the scenes procedures so that reviewing and responding to abuse occurs faster. This is one step in the right direction as the attempt to eradicate this type of behaviour continues.

In the UK, there is no legal definition of cyber bullying, however a number of laws exist that can be applied to cases of cyber bullying and online harassment. In India on the other hand, cyber bullying is a bailable offence, punishable with three years of imprisonment and a fine; however the complainant and police can interpret what constitutes offensive behaviour. Perhaps using India as an example, the only way forward is to be harder on cyber abuse, making examples of the worst cases. With the internet and social media continuing to expand at such a rapid rate, cases of cyber abuse are likely to continue to rise with them. This may be the only way to turn online trolls and bullies into the equivalent of outdated technology.

Organisation All Rise are currently undertaking research into cyber abuse and collecting data on how wide spread it is. There's a short survey here which needs your input: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LRWKGJ9



This week, Abchaps attended the Pre Xmas Social Drink of the East meets West Club in Kensington Gardens. Abchurch and East Meets West Club share the interest of connecting businesses in Asia and the West. As well as joining Stickland Tucker's Christmas Drinks, we also participated in Gordon Dadd’s tech roundtable event, where we contributed our insights into the UK tech scene, especially on London tech IPOs.



Edison Investment Research appointed Hans Boström to its global healthcare team in London, who joins from Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile, Jim Muir has joined Baker Tilly as its new head of Financial Services. Muir Joins from KPMG. Finally WH Ireland have create the position of head of Risk for James Baptise. Baptise joins with 20 years’ experience in the industry, having previously worked for Espirito Santo Investment Bank.



‘Cyber Abuse’-Using the internet or digital media platforms to deliberately cause harm or harrass another individual or group, often repeatedly.



Starting with something a bit different, The London Illustration Fair returns with a three-day event of artist-led stands, workshops, live DJs and pop-up food stalls. Showcasing the most innovative and exciting illustrators, printmakers and draftsman working in London today, the fair also champions four invited designers as part of its Affiliated Artists scheme, which this year includes Mr Bingo and Louise Pomeroy.

Continuing with the weird and the wonderful, if you are set on spreading the Christmas cheer this Saturday, then join in with Santacon. Dress up as the man of the moment and run around London at this 'non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical' celebration of Christmas cheer. Santacon is a flash mob-style gathering that sees three huge groups of Santa’s wandering through the city, giving out gifts and free hugs, singing carols and occasionally popping to the pub. Towards the end of the routes the groups join together into a huge throng of merry Santa’s (plus a few elves and reindeer – they're allowed to join in, too).

Finally for a relaxed Sunday away from the high street crowds of Christmas shoppers, Spitalfields City Farm is the place to go. The farm is hosting stalls selling handmade cards and non-massed-produced presents, as well as Christmas tress themselves, and will be invoking a non-jarring festive atmosphere with carol singing, mulled wine and seasonal family activities.

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Weekly Wrap Up: The Angel of the North is Burning Bright

We often hear rumours that there is more going on up North than Gail Platt simply taking a new love interest on ‘Coronation Street’; this week has been a case in point.

There have been multiple indications that the economic potential of the North is booming. These indications have inspired us to ask ourselves: should we be making a better job of tapping into the North so as to maintain our position as a dominant force in the global economy?

Numis Securities, one of the City’s most successful independent stockbrokers, have opened up a Northern office, to be headed up by Graeme Summers. This makes complete sense, as one of their main rivals, Zeus Capital, is currently one of the only brokers operating in both the City and the North. Zeus has successfully raised £900 million for its clients over the past 15 months, and has been the book runner on 40% of all of the AIM flotations in that period. Clearly Numis have caught a whiff of Zeus’ sweet Northern success, and are wisely following suit. This move indicates that if the advisers are heading North, there must be attractive and economically proficient Companies growing businesses in the UK’s Northern cities.

And where did one of the only IPOs to successfully get away in the last few months come from? C4X Discovery is a Manchester-based University spin-out which successfully raised £11 million on its AIM debut. This raise is not bad in the current economic climate, with just the week before seeing the stalled IPOs of Virgin Money, Aldermore and BCA Marketplace due to volatility in global equity markets.

So why is it that we still consider the Northern cities as secondary to London? The Government is making efforts to change this, as they realise that the UK is more attractive if considered by our international brethren as having not just one city with potential, but rather a constellation of burgeoning centres of business. Nick Clegg’s launch of TechNorth, the tech cluster designed to rival London’s Tech City shows a desire to encourage innovation throughout the UK.

But it’s not just about taking advantage of this potential, we must also do a better job of communicating it. The Guardian published an interesting article this week stating that it’s the public perception, branding and positioning of the North that needs to change. Several valid points are made; constantly referring to multiple cities as ‘The North’ positions the likes of Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Liverpool as one and the same. They are very different environments, with different histories and different strengths. Perhaps if we were to identify and acknowledge this then perceptions would change. Referring to ‘The North’ also invokes the feeling that these cities are on the peripheries, slightly removed from the action. This lack of connectivity can only harm common perceptions.

Angel of the North
Image courtesy of James Creegan, Flickr CC

I’m not sure that rebranding the collection of Cities as ‘ManPool’ or even ‘ManSheffLeedsPool’ would help, as Jim O’Neill suggested in the City Growth Commission report this week. But surely it would be easier to communicate the economic potential both domestically and internationally if we readdress how we position and brand them. The UK will not be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with international competitors, powered by multiple megacities, if we are left clinging on to the attributes of our singular ‘hub’. Surely a constellation of these ‘hubs’ is more attractive to investors and we would be better off nurturing the perception of a hive of activity.



This week Abchurch met the Kerman & Co team and exchanged our credentials in the various sectors that we both operate in, particularly in the mining space. We were warmed by the team’s hospitality and were delighted to be hosted in their very own Temple Bar.

Abchurch also hosted a China- themed market lunch and enjoyed a heated debate amongst City Advisors on the strategies of London-listed Chinese Companies going forward. Despite recent nuances, it is exciting to see that advisors are generally confident on the outlook of the Chinese Companies' equities market.



Jonathan Richards has been appointed equity research analyst in Cantor Fitzgerald Europe’s Financial Institutions team. Richards joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and has previously worked at UBS and Lehman Brothers.

Marc Tendler and Bas Hoekstra join Grant Thornton’s adviser specialist leasing, asset and consumer financing division. Tendler, an accountant, has worked in senior roles at Invigors, UK Vendor and Captive Asset Finance, and ING Lease UK. Hoekstra was also previously at ING Lease Holding, where he held a leadership role.

Investec Wealth & Investment has announced two appointments to its Bournemouth office. Darren Elmes and Steve Hart both join as senior investment directors from Barclays Wealth, where they were directors. Elmes has also held roles at Lloyds Private Banking and Capel Cure Sharp.



'ManSheffLeedsPool’ – The suggestion of Jim O’Neill, Former Goldman Sachs economist and Chair of the City Growth Commission, for the rebranding of our Northern treasures



Do you miss the Dandy; do you yearn for Dr Strange? This weekend sees ExCel London at the Royal Victoria Dock being turned into a comic lover’s feast with the arrival of MCM London Comic Con. This two day event is predicted to attract 100,000 comic fans from across the world to celebrate all that is great about this artistic medium. Visitors can expect memorabilia, photos with the starts and special guests.

Looking for a slightly more gentile experience? The London BluesFest is due to open this Sunday 26th at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore. This festival will run for six days, and will include performances from all of the best starts in blues, soul, jazz, R&B and beyond. Whilst the venue may send out vibes of expense, tickets for this festival can be purchased from as little as £17.25.

Halloween is on the horizon, and it is not just the ghouls and goblins that we should be afraid of. This Sunday 26th, hundreds of devilishly dressed dogs will take to the streets of Hampstead in the Devilish Dog Walk, a fund-raising event hosted by All Dogs Matter and Spaniards Inn. This walk will kick off at 10:30am and those brave enough to see their pups in Halloween attire can enter the walk at £5 a go.

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Weekly Wrap Up: The Communications of Switching

This week saw a new figure hit the headlines: 1.2 million people have switched their current accounts since September 2013.

This comes one year on from the launch of the Government’s scheme to encourage consumers to switch their banking current accounts by reducing the time that it takes to switch bank accounts from 30 days to just seven.

As detailed in the Payment Council’s annual report, switching levels are up 22% on last year, with some banks winning new customers - Halifax, Santander and Nationwide - and some, inevitably, losing customers - NatWest, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds.

This rise in consumer switching has been hailed as a success story of a scheme that is going to plan, or so according to George Osborne.

There are many benefits that have been discussed as rising from the growth of consumers switching their current accounts:
1) Accountability: The Daily Mail has suggested that this switching is the public’s way of “punishing” the banks for the mistakes of pre and post-2008
2) Competitive rates: In order to woo potential new customers and to retain existing customers, banks are now offering more customers more competitive rates and incentives
 3) Entrepreneurialism: With increased switching comes the opportunity for new companies to appear and succeed. This has been seen in the banking industry with so-called “challenger banks”, and is also being seen in the energy industry with the growth of alternative energy providers

So to what can we attribute this switching?

The most obvious answer is the governmental support that this scheme has received; a call to action from the powers that be which made headlines by suggesting that consumers deserve better.

But we in the communications industry would like to suggest that another big reason as to why the scheme was so well received is the act of communicating itself, both online and in the press. Whereas previously it was more likely that “a man would divorce his wife than switch his bank account”, due to the fact that it was unheard of and very difficult to switch, this scheme has not only made it easier but also more common for bank customers to question the product that they have been receiving and to look around at other options.

Whilst some have said that this 1.2 million is a modest figure, the BBC reported that 69% of consumers are now aware that they have the ability to switch due to the launch of the scheme.

This scheme has come at a time when consumer understanding and empowerment is of utmost importance. Whether that be regarding current accounts, energy bills or phone tariffs, consumers are now being given the necessary information and comparison tools to take more control over their own finances and help them live their lives more efficiently. Consumer price comparison websites such as moneysavingexpert.com have become hugely popular in recent years for just this reason, as have debates about preferred providers on social media.

The communications industry sits at the heart of this new information era, with information about new schemes and alternative providers being disseminated through national, trade and technical press, as well as through websites and social media. Companies seeking to ensure that their voice is still heard and that their commercial and financial case is still shared must therefore be keen and willing to engage with communications so as to ensure that they are not on the losing side of the market. Companies must also learn to listen and respond to the comments of their customers or face losing them to competitors.

In years gone by, customer switching and the need for communication were not in the mind of the corporate. Today, however, customers are on the lookout and companies must fight (and shout) to keep them…



The cold may be setting in but Abchaps are still out and about! We met up with some of our favourite journalists at Bloomberg and Dow Jones this week to get their take on the somewhat ‘choppy’ markets. We also caught up with the team at Daniel Stewart over a few glasses at our favourite local. We work very closely with a number of their team, and so it was fantastic so get everyone together again.



Investec has hired Christian Hess to head its financial sponsor transaction group. Christian was previously a partner at Compass Partners and the founder of Hess & Co International. Warren Mead has been appointed the head of challenger banking and alternative finance at KPMG, where he worked for 15 years. Robin Baillie has joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a global projects and real estate partner. Robin was previously a partner at Nabarro.



"Uswitch": an energy price comparison website helping consumers find the best energy deals on the market. Websites such as these heavily drive consumer switching

Frieze London, the contemporary art fair, is taking place in Regents Park.  Frieze is expected to draw in the world’s rich and famous and it is anticipated that they will spend millions on different works. The art fair has gained enormous popularity of recent years but the organisers have capped admission to 70,000 over the course of the event as it is unable to expand. The nearby illustrious and plush streets of Marylebone and Mayfair are expected be net gainers of the elite who will pile into its restaurants, cafes and hotels. 

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Weekly Wrap Up: Boris Johnson - zip wire to Prime Minister?

This week Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced the explosive news that he will, “in all probability”, work towards becoming an MP at the next general election.

As with every statement that Boris puts out, the media coverage was both wide ranging and abundant. The Express was kind to the incumbent Mayor, quoting the Culture Secretary Sajid Javid “it’s fantastic news”, whilst The Guardian was more sceptical. It focused on how the announcement “drew accusations of hypocrisy” in regards to his previous statements that he would not hold two political offices at once.

Stepping past the issue as to whether or not he would make a good MP (again), the dramatic announcement through Bloomberg says more about his long-term political intentions than his short-term plans to become an MP. A Mayor of London running to be an MP is not a new thing. It is exactly what his predecessor Ken Livingstone did for a year, so the news should not have attracted as much attention as it did.

Some in the City have speculated that Boris will do anything for a headline, an idea that suggests this announcement was just another headline grabbing ploy ahead of a much bigger campaign. Few can forget the famous zip wire event of 2012 when he was famously left stuck and dangling and his name subsequently splashed across the media. Did the zip wire really stick by accident, or was it planned?

Fast forward two years... Does Boris truly plan on running for MP and then “sticking” with these two roles? Or is he simply building his reputation ahead of a bigger and more prime ministerial campaign?

Almost every piece published on the topic speculated that this move could simply be a small step for Boris ahead of challenging David Cameron for the role of Tory Party leader / Prime Minister. Cameron’s quote, interactively shared through social media, suggests that he was delighted with the news. He said that he has always wanted his “star players on the pitch”. Whilst this comment is clearly very supportive towards his old friend Boris, we must bear in mind the old adage: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

If further building his reputation and positioning himself as a potential PM was Boris’s intention when announcing his MP-ship plans, he satisfied his objective.

Of the comments that resulted from the news, many contained expressions of delight at the idea of Boris becoming Prime Minister:

BBC: Corrigenda (6TH AUGUST 2014 - 16:10): Excellent news. This will liven up politics and will much increase interest and further eclipse Milliwatt-Balls.

nj (6TH AUGUST 2014 - 12:36) I would really love to see this MAN as our Prime Minister who speak TRUTH and stand by his words. Who walks with the current times.

Twitter fans also shared their views: Chris Beech ‏@chris1310beech (Aug 6): Yess Boris Johnson says he is going to run for priminister, come on Bojo!!!!

For now we have to wait and see what comes of both the 2015 election and the Uxbridge & South Ruislip seat. What we can do, however, is take stock of the media coverage that Boris achieved this week and keep an eye out for more headline grabbing moves on Boris’s political road to Westminster.



There was a flurry of activity in the Abchurch office this week with two particularly good Market Lunches taking place. Following the successful float of Savannah Petroleum last week, there was lots to talk about at the Natural Resources lunch. The take-home point from the Environmental lunch was that it is down to larger tech companies to bring environmental technologies to the forefront of consumers’ agendas and so solve the current energy crisis.



This week we congratulate Anne-Sophie Girault on her appointment as managing director of EMEA business development at RBC Global Asset Management, having moved from Aviva Investors. Meanwhile, RPC appointed David Gubbay, from Dechert, as a Partner in their corporate team, whilst Stephenson Harwood announced that Ben Stansfield will join as a real estate partner after having worked in the environment and planning group at Clifford Chance.



“Political stunt” - When a politician seeking to influence a politician or governmental policy takes an action they know will gain attention but is not likely to achieve its stated goal.


Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle will take place this Saturday. 10 miles of road in central London will be closed for the occasion, enabling cyclists to pass through the city safely without regular traffic. The route features Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, and many more sites along the way.

For fans of underground opera, Grimeborn Festival of New Opera will take place from 4 August to 7 September, featuring new composers, musicians, and artists. The festival is taking place at Arcola Theatre in Dalston Kingsland.

The 3 Crowns Wine Fair will take place near the Silicon Roundabout. Branded Portuguese, French, and Italian wine will be available at £5 per glass. There will be original folk music performance throughout the event.

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