Andersen sacked at Amvescap

FUND management giant Amvescap has ditched Andersen as its auditor, a major blow for the troubled accountancy firm. The group, best known in Britain by its Invesco brand, is the first FTSE 100 company to sack Andersen since the Enron scandal. It is taking its business to Ernst & Young. Amvescap is ranked number 35 by stock market value, managing funds of £274bn.

Previously, only bus builder Mayflower and The Wireless Group had axed Andersen in Britain, although a host of high-profile auditing defections have hit its US operations.

Last year, Amvescap paid Andersen £1.4m for auditing its accounts. Andersen earned a further £1.3m in non-audit fees from the firm, which it had worked for as auditor since 1994.

News of Amvescap's decision to sack the firm was issued in an unnoticed filing in the US last night. It comes as a further blow to the non-US divisions of Andersen, whose attempts to merge with KPMG were hit by another defection today, as its New Zealand division decided to merge with Ernst & Young.

An Andersen spokeswoman said Amvescap's decision was part of a routine review of advisers and claimed it was not related to Enron.