The outbreak of war in the Middle East has delivered a series of economic and operational shocks and a stark reminder of the fragility of global supply chains. For businesses, the conflict has not only intensified immediate financial, logistical and operational pressures, but also highlighted the critical importance of:

The EU is on a well-publicised mission to boost competitiveness. Guided by its 2025 "competitiveness compass", which sets an ambitious course, growth and innovation are at the heart of this mission, and venture capital and start-up businesses are key to its success.

Welcome to our series of podcasts focusing on international employment law.

Institutions and others wishing to invest in or use (whether for collateral, payments or other commercial purposes) digital assets should take note of a recent decision of the English High Court in Yuen v Li [2026] EWHC 532. The case considered the causes of action (and related remedies) available under English law to someone arguing that their Bitcoin has been stolen.

Earlier this month, the Government published a draft set of regulations laying out the framework for a new register of contractual controls (authorised by section 221 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023) along with some Government guidance.

The UK Government has now confirmed that it will lay secondary legislation before Parliament later this year to implement the anticipated reforms to the UK's National Security and Investment Act 2021 ("NSI Act") regime.

The way in which the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) communicates its supervisory expectations to firms has recently changed. Back in April 2025, the regulator announced that it would stop publishing its traditional portfolio letters for different sectors and instead committed to issuing a smaller number of what it terms "market reports", setting out key priorities and insights from its supervisory work for particular types of firms.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry 

The Employment Rights Bill has received Royal Assent, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025. The Act paves the way for significant reforms to UK employment law, with the key changes to be phased in starting from April 2026.

The government has announced a new set of updates which will come into effect on 8 April 2026 and 26 March 2027 respectively. 

What used to be rare is now routine: private equity is buying into sport at every level.

In the long-running privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers brought by a group of high-profile claimants including Prince Harry and Elton John, the High Court has reminded practitioners that an applicant seeking disclosure against a third party (a "stranger" to the litigation) must demonstrate that the threshold requirements have been met. Even if the relevant criteria are satisfied, the Court retains a discretion as to whether to make the third-party disclosure order.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

On 25 February 2025, the UK Government finally published the first UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, the UK SRS. The UK said at the Glasgow COP in 2021 that it would be an early adopter of ISSB and yet it has taken nearly three years after publication of the ISSB standards for the Government to endorse them, and far from being the first world economy to do so, the UK joins the ranks of more than 35 countries bringing ISSB sustainability standards into their national frameworks.

The past few months have proved more than ever that predicting tomorrow's headline is a fool's game.  While that illustrates the uncertainty of today's world, it also serves as a timely reminder that short-term, reactive strategies rarely maximise opportunities. That is never more true than on sustainability issues, where striking the balance between immediate and longer-term priorities is the name of the game.

Meeting the growing demand for data centres is complex and challenging enough, without having to contend with the extensive range of acronyms and technical vocabulary that are often used when discussing the sector.  Our glossary of data centre-related terminology is intended to provide a useful resource to help cut through the jargon.

The EMIR clearing thresholds and calculation methodology are being changed.