A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry 

Travers Smith LLP is delighted to announce the hire of Andy Moody as a partner in its Dispute Resolution practice.

With the summer drawing to a close and the final quarter of the year beckoning, the Financial Services and Markets team at Travers Smith has prepared an End of Summer Postcard to flag key regulatory priorities for Q4 2026 and beyond. 

In July 2026, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Saxon Woods Investments Limited v Francesco Costa [2026] UKSC 21, addressing important issues of company law, including whether an individual director can "go it alone" and subvert the collective will of the board if they genuinely believe that pursuing an alternative strategy is in the best interests of the company.

Leading independent law firm Travers Smith LLP has announced the hire of Jessica Craske as Head of Planning.

Leading independent law firm Travers Smith LLP has announced the hire of Andrew Howard as a partner into its successful Employment team, further strengthening its practice. Following Andrew's recruitment, the practice now includes six partners and 24 lawyers, and continues to expand. 

The UK Government is making major changes to the law on late payment – including fines for businesses which fail to pay suppliers on time, a prohibition on payment periods over 60 days and a new adjudication system for certain payment disputes. These measures are likely to lead to a significantly tougher regulatory environment, particularly for larger businesses which regularly use SME suppliers.

Welcome to Frontline by Travers Smith – our series addressing the key issues affecting the defence sector. 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon John Healey MP, will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday 28 October 2026.

It's now over a year since the Competition and Markets Authority gained a raft of tough new powers to enforce UK consumer law under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA). We look at the key takeaways for consumer-facing businesses from the CMA's early enforcement activity in this space.

Alongside a number of other consultations launched this summer, HMRC has opened a consultation seeking views on the administration of treaty reliefs from the UK's withholding tax on interest payments.

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.