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The Supreme Court has recently published its long-awaited judgment¹ in Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48, which provides guidance on whether an arbitrator's appointment to multiple arbitrations involving overlapping subject matter and parties may give rise to the appearance of bias on the part of the arbitrator, and the circumstances in which such appointments need to be disclosed to parties unaware of the overlap.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Shawbrook Bank Limited (Shawbrook) on a new £25 million facility made available to KHK Capital (KHK), a bridging and development lender to property investors, developers and professionals. This new financing line enables KHK Capital to meet rapidly growing demand from new and repeat customers for lending solutions on a diverse range of residential and commercial property.

In the autumn of last year, the EU issued a proposed regulation on digital operational resilience which is likely to have broad implications, not only for EU financial entities, but also those which provide ICT services to such entities, including UK ICT service providers.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Riverside Partners and its portfolio company, Loftware, the global leader in Enterprise Labelling and Artwork Management, on its strategic combination with NiceLabel, a leading developer of label management systems.

Despite the significant body of scientific research indicating that we are reaching a tipping point in the global fight against the damaging effects of climate change, global carbon output continues to climb. However, there is growing international consensus around the need for urgent action to reverse the effects of climate change.

The Australian superannuation fund Rest has agreed a settlement in a landmark case, acknowledging that "climate change could lead to catastrophic economic and social consequences and is an important concern of Rest's members", and that it is "important to actively identify and manage" that risk.

The end of the post-Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 has brought with it some changes for those involved in civil litigation with an EU element. Generally, proceedings which are already on foot will be unaffected, whereas litigants involved in new proceedings with an EU element may now face a slightly bumpier procedural ride and some increased cost.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) on its partnership with Broadstone, one of the UK’s leading independent providers of specialist pensions, trustee and employee benefits solutions.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Shawbrook Bank Limited (Shawbrook) on the refinancing of a senior debt facility provided to specialist real estate lender, Pivot Finance (Pivot). The funding will be used to underwrite unregulated bridging loans and build out Pivot's bridging and development finance offering. The specialist lender also agreed a new £15 million investment from Quilam Capital.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

The High Court's recent judgment in Fibula Air Travel s.r.l. v Just-Us Air s.r.l. [2020] EWHC 3048 provides some early clues about how force majeure clauses might be interpreted where parties seek to rely on them as a result of difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (the "Pandemic").

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

Travers Smith LLP has advised S4 Capital plc on the merger of MediaMonks, S4 Capital's Content practice, with TOMORROW, an award-winning Shanghai-based creative agency.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Inflexion on its significant minority investment in Digital Wholesale Solutions (DWS), an independent IT, communications and cloud wholesale platform, which is currently part of the Daisy Group.

Travers Smith LLP has advised leading independent district energy and multi-utility infrastructure provider Metropolitan, in relation to its 25-year contract with Quintain to adopt and operate the large-scale district heating network for the transformational Quintain development at Wembley Park.

"You don't need to have 20/20 vision to see that the year ahead will be challenging…"

Updated 31 March 2021