A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry 

Welcome to the November 2026 edition of Travers Smith's Quarterly Listed Company Update. This issue highlights the latest regulatory developments and guidance relevant to listed companies, as well as key trends and practical points for consideration in the coming months.

In Sterling House Ltd v International Baccalaureate Organisation (UK) Ltd [2026] EWHC 2680 (BP), the High Court held the tenant's break notice was valid. The tenant relied on estoppel to argue it had paid the correct amount of outstanding rent, based on the invoice it received from the landlord's agents.

HMRC publishes new guidance on treaty relief where payer has failed to deduct

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has provided the final details of the Government's 'Earned Settlement' policy, which will reform the route to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for individuals in the UK. These reforms are described by the Government as largely consistent with the proposals set out in the November 2025 consultation and we have provided a summary of these changes below:

In a surprise move, in Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor announced a fundamental reform of how foreign sovereigns, such as sovereign wealth funds and overseas public pension schemes, are treated for UK tax purposes. Although the details are being consulted on, the key planks of the new regime are clear.

The Government has announced a number of immigration measures as part of the 2026 Budget, with several important changes for employers and internationally mobile workers expected during 2027.

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Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon John Healey MP, has only been in post for 101 days but has already delivered his first Budget Statement.

The authors examine various scenarios in which the exercise of a contractual discretion typically arises in banking and finance and provide a list of practical considerations for decision-makers.

On 23 October 2026, the FCA published CP26/37: Senior Managers & Certification Regime Review: Phase 2. On the same day, the PRA also published its consultation on the Phase 2 proposals, relevant for firms within its supervisory framework.

The transfer window across the big European football leagues may have closed at the beginning of September, but one of football's biggest names has made a significant move off the pitch.

In this five minute video, we discuss some of the key pitfalls with those mundane – but often quite important – clauses in commercial agreements known as boilerplate. Victoria Howard-Smith, Toby Major, Oliver Richmond and Jonathan Rush explain some of the key points to watch out for.

Latest episode: Episode 4: HMRC's consultation on modernising the distributions framework (Part 3: The impact on Private Capital)

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Back in October 2025, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began a review into how UK private market firms were identifying, managing and mitigating conflicts of interest. The scope of the review focused on fund management, discretionary portfolio management and advisory activities carried out in or from the UK in connection with investment in private equity, private credit or real estate.

The UK Government issued a final order under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 ("NSIA") on 7 October 2026 conditionally approving the 2024 acquisition of Gumtree.com Limited by FE International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese online classified advertisements company 58.com.

In collaboration with Ukrainian law firm Arzinger, we recently hosted a webinar on Ukraine's wartime defence-industry boom and the legal framework foreign companies need to navigate in order to do business in it.

Recently, the seemingly unstoppable march of AI deployment across the world economy has rarely been out of the news. As financial services firms increasingly adopt AI-driven tools within their businesses, a key question has been how regulators will respond and whether they have clearly articulated their expectations for AI usage and governance across the sector.