Our knowledge resources reflect the breadth and depth of our expertise, our insight into the issues which matter to your business, and our understanding of the markets in which you operate.
There has (not surprisingly) been some confusion about what has happened to the pensions lifetime allowance from 6 April 2023, following the surprise Spring Budget announcement about its abolition. In the following Q&As, we consider the immediate implications of the changes.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill has finally been put before the UK Parliament and is likely to become law in 2024.
The highly anticipated Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 25 April 2023. Described by Sarah Cardell, CEO of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as a "flagship bill" with the "potential to be a watershed moment", the Bill sets out far-reaching changes to the competition and consumer law regimes here in the UK, as well as a new ex ante regime for scrutiny of Big Tech.
In this week's issue of Alternative Insights, we are looking at the impact of the EU's new foreign subsidies regulation on private equity deals.
As part of the "Tax Administration and Maintenance Day" on 27 April, the Government has published a consultation setting out proposals for the reform of stamp duty/SDRT for shares and marketable securities.
Following a protracted consultation process, each of the EU and the UK has now finalised its revised requirements for trade reporting under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation ("EMIR") following the revision of EMIR in 2019 ("EMIR Refit").
If you had an employee share plan or arrangement in the 2022/23 tax year, now is the time to start thinking about your annual reporting obligations.
In our new Talking. Secondaries. series, we will seek to demystify the secondaries and synthetic secondaries markets and provide insights into the variety of tools available to GPs when looking to provide liquidity to their limited partners and their portfolios.
In 2020, the UK outlined its roadmap to implementing the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD"). With the first wave of premium listed companies already having prepared reports, the second wave will see standard listed companies, the largest asset managers and very large companies issuing TCFD reports or TCFD-aligned reports under the Companies Act this year. Smaller asset managers with over £5bn of assets under management will already be thinking about how to make their first firm-level reports next year.
In the recent case of Jonathan Hitchins and others v HMRC [2023] FTT 127 (TC), the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) had to consider whether to require HMRC to close a long running enquiry.
In the recent decision in Mackenzie v Rosenblatt Solicitors (a firm) and another, Fancourt J dismissed a professional negligence claim against a defendant firm of solicitors arising out of advice they had given to the claimant in relation to a claim he had issued against his former employer and certain directors of the employer for unlawful means conspiracy. The decision provides a useful reminder of solicitors' contractual and common law duties to keep a client properly apprised of developments on a matter or claim and makes clear the need for claimants to demonstrate that, in the absence of any breach of duty, they would have behaved differently and avoided some or all of the alleged loss.
Following repeated postponements, the UK Government has finally published its plans to introduce full border controls on imports of goods from the EU. We explain what this means in practice and what businesses need to do to prepare.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
The European Commission (Commission) has issued further guidance on the interpretation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). This is in the form of responses to questions put to it in September 2022 by the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs). The responses include guidance on the definition of sustainable investment, disclosures around the reduction of carbon emissions and principal adverse impact disclosures.
Businesses with overseas operations, and firms that provide social audit support services to those businesses, need to be cognisant of attempts by claimant law firms to extend the existing boundaries of tort law and bring novel and ambitious value chain liability claims against them. Several claimant law firms (and litigation funders) have explicitly pivoted towards bringing these claims in the ESG space.
In the recent decision in Mundy v TUI [2023] EWHC 385 (CH), the High Court considered how a rejected offer to settle liability on a 90%/10% basis ("90/10 offers") fitted with the provisions of CPR 36.17.
In its Annual Business Plan for 2023/24, the second of its three-year strategic plan, the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") – among other things - continues its drive to become a more assertive regulator, and to strengthen its enforcement strategy, with investment in people, data, and technology. This includes a significant increase in headcount in its Enforcement and Market Oversight Division ("Enforcement Division") intended to build capacity and resilience in its case and investigation teams, and to enable it to act faster against firms causing harm to consumers and/or markets.
Welcome to our Spring Update setting out our thoughts on some of the latest developments in the field of employee incentives and remuneration. Do reach out to a member of the team if you need help navigating these changes.