Cross border Mergers & Acquisitions

Travers Smith is advising Peel Pepper (UK) Limited ("BidCo"), a company indirectly wholly-owned by Peel Holdings Group Limited, on its voluntary cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Harworth Group plc ("Harworth") not already owned by BidCo or other wholly-owned subsidiaries of Peel Holdings Group Limited.

Split trials have become a hot topic in securities claims brought under the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. In particular, the question of when the issue of reliance should be heard in section 90A / schedule 10A cases has proved to be rather knotty, with the conclusions of judges appearing to vary from case to case.

Just before Parliament broke for summer recess on 16 July 2026, the Department of Work and Pensions published several papers and consultations, all focused on driving forward the changes affecting defined contribution (DC) pension schemes being introduced by the Pension Schemes Act 2026 (the PSA2026). This briefing summarises the main points for DC trustees and providers.  

Phase 3 of the UK's Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme ("ESOS") might feel uncomfortably fresh in the minds of those responsible for their organisation's compliance with it, but Phase 4 is already in sight. ESOS, which requires large organisations with UK operations to audit their energy usage and consider opportunities for reducing it, operates on a four-year cycle, but delays to Phase 3 reduced that to around two years.

On 29 June 2026, the UK Supreme Court granted permission to appeal in a landmark collective action against some of the UK's largest water companies. The case has now reached the highest court in the UK, following refusals by both the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal to certify the class actions brought by Professor Carolyn Roberts.

Travers Smith has advised Bowmark Capital on the financing arrangements supporting its acquisition of a majority shareholding in InfraXmedia from Opus Origin.

Travers Smith has advised DP World on the transfer of six contract logistics sites serving major grocery customers, with more than two million square feet of warehouse capacity and 2,000 personnel from GXO Logistics. GXO’s transfer of the sites was a regulatory condition to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) approval of GXO’s acquisition of Wincanton.