Hot on the heels of HM Treasury's consultation on the prospectus regime, on 5 July the FCA published a consultation on the effectiveness of the primary markets. The consultation firstly looks at ways of improving the efficiency of the listing regime and secondly proposes targeted changes to remove barriers to listing.  The FCA seeks to address, and build upon, the proposals of the Kalifa Review of UK FinTech  and Lord Hill's UK Listing Review.

In the third of a series of articles looking at how Brexit is working out for the UK, we consider the geographic impact and how that might affect future decisions by businesses to invest in the UK.

Following Brexit and the Hill Review, the Treasury is looking to carry out a radical overhaul of the rules governing public offers of securities and prospectuses in the UK. Even to the staunchest remainer, the proposals appear to remove some of the less logical constraints imposed by the EU Prospectus Regulation, minimising legislation and allowing the FCA freedom to act more nimbly in deciding when a prospectus is actually necessary, and when investors are adequately protected by market information or other means.

In a welcome move, the European Commission has formally approved an adequacy decision for the UK on data protection. However, as we explain below, this may not be the end of the story as regards the post-Brexit treatment of EU personal data – and there is still unfinished business in a number of other important areas beyond data protection.

In the second of a series of articles looking at how Brexit is working out for the UK, we discuss tariff reductions that took effect on 1 January 2021. Which sectors benefit, what will be the wider impact and what more could be done?

This is the first in a series of briefings looking at how Brexit is going, 4 months after the end of the transition period. Here we discuss the current state of UK-EU relations: could they improve and could this bring about improvements in the trading relationship?

Following the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, EU free movement rules no longer apply to travel between the UK and countries within the EU.

In 2019, UK voters were promised that there was a plan to "get Brexit done", so that we could all move on – and businesses could invest against a background of greater certainty. Whilst considerable progress has been made towards those goals, there remains a significant amount of unfinished business and uncertainty in key areas.

Since 1 January 2021, the new points-based immigration system has applied equally to non-EU nationals as well as EU nationals who move to the UK to live and work. Following the end of the Brexit Transition period, EU nationals who were not resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 must now qualify for visas under the same immigration rules as non-EU nationals.

The UK Government has announced that full border controls on imports of most goods from the EU will not now be introduced until 1 January 2022. This is a significant delay, as it had previously planned to introduce full controls by 1 July 2021.

A barrier-free flow of personal data between the EEA and the UK shows much greater promise now that the European Commission has published its draft adequacy decision for the UK. Whilst this is welcome news, it does not mean an end to post-Brexit uncertainty in this area.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed by the UK and the EU in December 2020 contains a number of provisions which relate to tax. In this briefing, we look at what they are and how far they could constrain the UK's room for manoeuvre on tax issues in future.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

The story behind the headline...

Since the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, there have been numerous reports of businesses struggling to deliver goods and even halting deliveries to customers in Northern Ireland. Why is Northern Ireland in this difficult position despite remaining a part of the UK following Brexit? Laura Hodgson, Knowledge Counsel, discusses the newly in force Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement in 2019, and the VAT and custom duty charges on goods entering Northern Ireland from other parts of the UK.

The story behind the headline...

Throughout January, papers and media websites were full of stories about people being asked to pay large and unexpected tax and custom duties charges on the arrival of goods from the EU. So, what is this so-called Brexit tax and why is it being charged when the UK and EU have agreed a zero tariff Brexit deal?

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed by the UK and EU in December 2020 contains a number of provisions which may constrain the UK's scope to make changes to employment law. In practice, how significant could these constraints prove to be?

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed by the UK and EU in December 2020 contains few provisions which are directly relevant to M&A – but there are provisions on investment and the end of the Brexit transition period is likely to have a significant impact, both on M&A and the wider investment landscape.

The role of the ICO post-Brexit

The ICO is the UK’s independent regulator who oversees and enforces the UK’s data protection regime. From 1st January 2021 as the ICO’s website states “… the UK General Data Protection Regulation together with the amended Data Protection Act and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations will comprise the personal data protection legislation in the UK.”  The Trade and Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) agreed between the UK and the EU on 24^th December 2020 agreed a ‘data-bridge’ which provides for the continued free flow of personal data from the EU and EEA EFTA States to the UK until adequacy decisions are adopted, and for no longer than six months.

This briefing was updated on 12 February 2021.

As one of the key sticking points in negotiations leading up to the trade deal agreed on 24 December 2020, the future of the UK's state aid regime has been uncertain ever since it was determined that the UK was to leave the EU. However, with terms now agreed between the EU and UK on the control of subsidies in each jurisdiction, some clarity has been provided for UK and EU businesses alike on this contentious issue.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the UK and the EU, which took effect on 1 January 2021, dedicates an entire chapter to digital trade arrangements, such as the supply of goods and services through online channels. This is the first time an EU trade agreement has included a specific chapter of this nature and marks the importance of digital trade between the two jurisdictions.