News in brief: Telford raises £20m for land grab spree, Big Four set pace on accountancy fees, Three non-execs quit board of LSE

12 June 2013

London housebuilder Telford Homes today raised £20 million through a share placing to allow it to buy up more sites and take advantage of demand in the capital.

It placed the new shares at 250p, a 2p discount to last night’s closing price. It has also increased its borrowing facilities to £120 million. Telford said it has already pre-sold 99% of the homes it plans to build this year, and is gearing up for major expansion over the next three years.

Big Four set pace on accountancy fees

The Big Four Accountants shared a fee bonanza in 2011-12 while smaller rivals barely grew, according to a report from the Financial Reporting Council.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young saw fees across their businesses, from auditing accounts to advising companies on deals and debt, increase by 7.7%. The rest of the industry saw fee hikes of only 0.6%.

Three non-execs quit board of LSE

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti is one of three non-executives stepping down from the board of the London Stock Exchange next month. He departs after six years on the board.

Former BarCap vice chairman Gay Huey Evans and Baroness Janet Cohen are also stepping down. In come Deutsche Bank’s chief risk officer Stuart Lewis and Swaps and Derivatives Association chairman Stephen O’Connor.