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Welcome to the fourth edition of Travers Smith's Outsourcing Spotlight. In this issue, we look at whether a possible change in the approach to equal pay could undermine incentives to outsource. We also discuss the implications of the UK Government's Immigration White Paper, new legislation on premises and consumer-facing outsourcings and take an in-depth look at longer term outsourcings.
In this short video, Rich Offord, Katie Hindley and Jonathan Rush highlight some of the key issues for customers when negotiating payment clauses in commercial contracts. Topics covered include common pitfalls when seeking to withhold payments in response to poor supplier performance and the importance of set off rights. We also discuss why some customers may need to devote more attention to whether they are paying their suppliers on time and the remedies specified in the contract for late payment.
With employer's National Insurance contributions (NICs) now at 15% and tax bands frozen, salary sacrifice arrangements are an increasingly popular choice for employees and employers looking to reduce their costs. These arrangements involve employees "sacrificing" their right to a portion of their pre-tax salary or bonus in exchange for non-cash benefits such as pension contributions and cycle-to-work schemes.
For managers (i.e. the Sponsor) of closed-ended private equity funds (including real estate or infrastructure funds), continuation vehicles offer the Sponsor an alternative to the traditional exit routes for investments.
Travers Smith LLP has advised leading property finance specialist MSP Capital on £350 million of financing, comprising a £200 million securitisation facility from J.P. Morgan and £150 million of funding from existing funder Pollen Street Capital.
A series of dynamic conversations hosted by Simon Witney, sustainable finance specialist, joined by two expert guests.
Join Sarah-Jane Denton, Simon Witney and Anne-Marie Schoonbeek, COO at KEY ESG for an expert guide to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Travers Smith has advised NYSE-listed RPM International Inc., which owns subsidiaries that are world leaders in specialty coatings, sealants, building materials and related services, on the acquisition of the Star Brands Group, the UK-based parent company of The Pink Stuff, for RPM's subsidiary, Rust-Oleum.
The recent Supreme Court decision on the meaning of "sex" in the Equality Act has been widely reported and generated much debate. Whilst the Court provided clarification on what "sex" means in the legal context, on a practical level the decision has given rise to some complex questions and considerations, not least for employers.
As discussed in our February legal briefing, the EU Commission has recently proposed a sustainability "Omnibus" package, intended to deliver on its simplification agenda by amending certain key legislation - the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD"), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D") and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Regulation ("CBAM") with concurrent changes to the detail of the Taxonomy Regulation. The Omnibus proposes to dramatically reduce the number of companies subject to mandatory sustainability reporting under CSRD and ease obligations under the CS3D for active human rights and environmental due diligence.
In its Commonhold White Paper, the Government acknowledges that "no form of homeownership is perfect, nor immune from disputes, especially in flatted developments with the close proximity of neighbours and shared responsibility for upkeep and associated costs". However, commonhold is presented as a tenure which, due to its democratic nature, is inherently less likely than leasehold tenure to generate disputes.
If you operated an employee share plan or arrangement during the 2024/25 tax year, now is the time to start thinking about your annual employee share plan reporting obligations. Annual returns for the last tax year must be filed online with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by 6 July 2025 and are due in respect of all the employee share plans or arrangements you had in place during that period, even if there has been no activity.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expects online trader recommendation platforms (TRPs) to take action against businesses that try to boost their ratings based on fake or misleading reviews. But some businesses may fight back – arguing that the TRP was wrong to impose sanctions and even that they have suffered significant harm as a result.
Among other things, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 (DMCC Act) requires publishers of consumer reviews to take "reasonable and proportionate steps" to prevent the publication of fake or misleading consumer reviews. But what does "reasonable and proportionate" mean in practice?