<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

By now, most large UK organisations will be familiar with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme ("ESOS"), which is the UK's implementation of Article 8 of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, requiring those in scope to measure and audit their energy use. In anticipation of ESOS reporting deadline later this year, we outline the main changes to Phase 3, and how they may impact an organisation's energy reporting.

Entering the policy debate behind other antitrust regulators, the CMA has signalled that it will give firms more latitude to pursue green collaborations – but the devil will be in detail.

In this recent decision on the interpretation of settlement agreements, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that, where the wording of a settlement agreement and its factual matrix indicate that it is objectively intended to cover claims in fraud and dishonesty, that agreement will be given effect, even where these is no express reference to such claims.

On 14 February 2022 Dr Liza Lovdhal Gormsen, the proposed class representative ("PCR"), filed her application to bring collective proceedings against Meta, alleging that Facebook abused its dominant position by making its users' access to the social media platform contingent on their provision of personal data, which Facebook then aggregated and profited from through advertising revenues.

Travers Smith's Head of Asset Management, Emily Clark and Tax Knowledge Counsel, Ian Zeider have written an article in a recent edition of Tax Journal, discussing the government consultation on the VAT treatment of fund management services.

Pensions Partner, Andy Lewis, and Head of Derivatives & Structured Products Partner, Jonathan Gilmour, have jointly contributed to the recently published International Comparative Legal Guide on Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2023. 

Funds Partner Will Normand and Senior Counsel Leigh Stockey have featured in the latest edition of Private Equity International's Democratisation Report. In their keynote interview, Will and Leigh discuss the current status of the market and the likely evolution of the sector. 

The EU's Directive on Corporate Sustainability Reporting ("CSRD") was published in its final form in mid December 2022, giving organisations in its scope certainty about when the significantly expanded reporting requirements will apply to them.

Since the introduction of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) and the creation of the new Part 26A restructuring plan procedure, questions have been raised about whether the cost of using such a procedure would restrict its use to larger, better capitalised companies. 

Danny Peel, Katie McMenamin, Charles Bischoff and Kirsty Emery have co-authored a chapter in the latest edition of Global Legal Insights' annual fund finance publication assessing the current fund finance market and newer liquidity solutions available to alternative asset fund managers. This chapter was first published in GLI - Fund Finance 2023 (Seventh Edition).

Key case on arbitration law and the separability principle.  

The Government issued a consultation in December 2022 about its proposed changes to the NPPF. These represent the first set of changes to the NPPF that the Government intends to make in order to reflect its levelling-up agenda, and will be followed by a wider review once it has implemented its proposals for wider changes to the planning system, including the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.

In the recent case of Samuel and Helen Moore (t/a Moore Farms) v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 411 (TC), the First-Tier Tribunal had to consider whether to permit a late appeal against an HMRC decision after a later court judgment in a different case strongly indicated that that HMRC decision had been incorrect.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Welcome to the fifth episode in our Spotlight on ESG video series. 

A majority of the Supreme Court recently held that an insolvent company does not suffer any recoverable loss if payments are made from its bank accounts that discharge a debt owed by that company. This decision adds to the growing case law on the Quincecare duty.

In the first of 3 briefings looking into the range of tenures available for use in developing new retirement accommodation schemes, this piece discusses the report published this month by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People called: ‘Making retirement living affordable: the role of shared ownership housing'.  The report results from an enquiry set up by the group in December 2021, supported by a panel of 6 independent members from both the profit and not-for-profit housing sectors, to investigate whether the shared ownership model could help make high-quality retirement housing in England accessible to a much larger market than the other main options of purchasing properties outright or renting from a social housing provider.

Improving cybersecurity for essential services and infrastructure is high on the agenda for the UK's and the EU's legislators, in response to the ever-evolving threat landscape. The UK's and the EU's respective network and information systems or NIS regimes, while both to be strengthened (including by bringing managed service providers into scope), look to be diverging. 

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.