SECTOR FOCUS: LEGAL
SPONSORED BY: BHSF
Flexible benefits
BHSF, the Midlands based employee benefits provider, is to move into the flexible benefits market this year with a product aimed at the SME to mid-corporate market. The firm, which has some
2,800 corporate clients as well as valuable relationships with key intermediaries, believes that it has identified a significant gap in the market which the new product FlexSme will fill.
Brian Hall, BHSF marketing
director, said: “FlexSme will satisfy around 60 per cent of the market and brings together a section of core benefits, BHSF’s own voluntary benefits and eight slots for flexed benefits provision.
‘It is possible to have a FlexSme system up and running for as little as £2,500’
“Unlike some other solutions in the market, BHSF is not prescribing the types of benefits or the suppliers of benefits that can be introduced into each slot. This allows employers to carry forward existing benefit provisions or pick up on recommendations from their intermediaries or key suppliers.” BHSF believes that the
product’s key advantage in the market will be the ability to deliver low-cost product through BHSF’s not-for-profit status.
Mr Hall said: “An employer with 1,500 staff could implement the programme fully for as little as £7,500. Looking at smaller employers, it is possible to have a FlexSme system up and running for as little as £2,500.”
For further information visit
www.bhsf.co.uk
42 CHAMBERLINK NOVEMBER 2011 A
Law firms fail to assess their risk exposure
Jane Galvin: best run firms are lean and agile
s Britain’s top 50 law firms increasingly look to emerging markets for growth, new research from Barclays Corporate
suggests these firms may be taking unnecessary foreign exchange (FX) risks in their pursuit of global expansion. Three quarters of the UK’s biggest law firms do not hedge their FX exposure, and the majority (78 per cent) consider FX exposure as being of only ‘slight’ or ‘no risk’ to the firm, even though half of the firms surveyed operate in more than five international markets.
‘The best-run legal practices emerged from the recession operating far leaner and more agile business structures ‘
This compares to 74 per cent of businesses outside the legal sector which do hedge forecasted FX transaction risks, according to a recent Barclays/ACT survey. Risk management is clearly moving up the agenda
for law firms as 30 per cent of those surveyed now have dedicated corporate treasury functions and 78 per cent of firms discuss risk management at board level. However, this increased vigilance is not always
translated into proactive risk management. Barclays Corporate carried out its research on UK law firms in response to the increasing number of firms which are opening offices overseas, particularly in emerging markets including China and South America. The research looked at the importance firms place on risk management and their attitudes towards hedging foreign currency and interest rate exposure. Jane Galvin, managing director and head of professional
services at Barclays Corporate, said: “The best-run legal practices emerged from the recession operating far leaner and more agile corporate-style business structures and are now focused on global expansion, whether it’s making a first move abroad or increasing their footprint as opportunities in emerging markets arise. “However, this is against a backdrop of US debt,
European contagion concerns and unprecedented volatility in foreign exchange rates. Firms should be focusing on financial management when considering overseas growth and looking at how to mitigate risks, including FX. “Law firms are beginning to become more corporate in their make up, the recession and the impending Legal Services Act has accelerated this cultural change. Whether exposure to risk is direct or implicit, law firms should be assessing their exposure.”
Issue of cohabitation
An eccentric TV presenter’s failure to enter into a cohabitation agreement with his gay lover has led to a court row over a £1.2 million mansion where they both lived. The case involved Alexander
Torquil Mackenzie-Buist, partner of Channel 4 presenter and hotelier Timothy Hadcock-Mackay, who died five years ago. Mr Mackenzie-Buist had tried to
have the executors of his former partner’s estate sacked, arguing that they had “eroded its value”. The Court of Appeal refused, with the main issue being the couple’s failure to enter into a civil partnership or a cohabitation agreement. Wills solicitor Lisa Whitehouse, of law firm Challinors, said if the pair had done so, then the situation would not have arisen. She said: “In his will, Mr Hadcock-Mackay made Mr Mackenzie-Buist a
Where there’s a will: Lisa Whitehouse
substantial beneficiary of the estate, but Mr Mackenzie-Buist’s lawyers argued the property portfolio left by Mr Hadcock-Mackay ought to be treated as belonging to their client, who had contributed more to their purchase price than Mr Hadcock-Mackay, in whose name they were registered. “The executors argued that Mr Hadcock-Mackay was labouring under a ‘fundamental misconception’ of his entitlements under the will. “If the couple had made their intentions clear by way of a cohabitation
agreement, carefully considered their choice of executors and the extent to which the estate would include Mr Hadcock-Mackay’s share of the property, Mr Mackenzie-Buist would have been in a much stronger position to protect his investment in the property.”
George Green aids stockbroker sale
Black Country law firm George Green has advised Equiniti Group on its buy out of the corporate and employee services (CES) division of NatWest Stockbrokers. CES provides share dealing
services to many FTSE 100 companies. Equiniti Group is the largest provider of shareholder services to FTSE100 companies in the UK. Equiniti chief executive officer
Wayne Story said: “The acquisition of NatWest Stockbrokers’ Corporate and Employee Services dealing division is an important element of the Equiniti Group’s continuing programme of selective investment in the financial services area. “The addition of Corporate and
Employee Services will build upon our existing service offering and the new team will bring a wealth of experience that will complement Equiniti’s existing operations, further enabling us to provide our clients with an extensive range of brokerage and investment services.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56