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The UK Government is consulting on proposals to allow lower courts to diverge from EU caselaw which predates the end of the transition period. This is potentially significant for many areas of law as it could speed up the process of divergence from the EU after the end of the transition period.
On 21 July 2020 the Government published draft clauses for inclusion in the Finance Bill 2021. These include several measures relating to the rules governing HMRC's ability to obtain information about taxpayers.
Travers Smith LLP has advised European leisure park operator Looping Group on its acquisition of iconic British theme park Drayton Manor.
On 20 July 2020, the first trial under the Financial Markets Test Case Scheme (Scheme) began in the English Commercial Court before Lord Justice Flaux and Mr. Justice Butcher.
The European Commission has adopted a number of limited measures designed to reduce some of the burdens which firms face under MiFID II and in relation to securitisations.
Travers Smith LLP has advised Auto Trader Group plc (Auto Trader), the UK's largest digital automotive marketplace, on the acquisition of Blue Owl Network Limited.
The European Commission proposes radical new simplified disclosure regime in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the 'EU Recovery Prospectus', and changes to sponsor's obligations relating to supplementary prospectuses.
This briefing was updated on 5 August 2020.
Travers Smith LLP has advised S4Capital plc on the agreed merger of its data and programmatic media practice, MightyHive, with Orca Pacific, a market leading full-service Amazon agency and boutique consultancy firm based out of Seattle.
Across five cases in less than a year, fines totalling £13.7m and warning letters sent to the entire industry, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (the "CMA") has put suppliers and retailers on notice that it will not tolerate efforts to fix or otherwise stabilise resale prices for consumers. While all five cases concerned activities in the musical instruments sector, the risks and lessons apply to vertical distribution arrangements in a much broader context and show that the CMA is prepared to clamp down hard on businesses which flout the rules.
The public statements made by Brexit negotiators David Frost and Michel Barnier last week suggest that the latest round of Brexit negotiations has resulted in minimal progress on the key issues separating the UK and EU.
National governments across the EU have provided significant financial aid to support companies in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Ordinarily, many of these measures would fall foul of EU state aid rules and be open to legal challenge – but the EU has introduced a temporary framework to permit such measures to be taken.
The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA")'s proposal requires UK premium listed entities to state whether they comply with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") and/or to explain any non-compliance. Although the TCFD already has more than 500 supporters (including 457 companies and 56 other organizations e.g. industry associations and governments), the proposed changes reflect the view that further active intervention is needed in order to accelerate climate change reporting.
Covid-19 created a global pause for all of us. As lockdown in the UK eases, many companies are now taking stock of lessons learnt in the crisis.
Travers Smith LLP has advised its long-standing, AIM-listed client, Benchmark Holdings plc on the sale of the business and assets relating to its vaccine manufacturing facility at Braintree, UK to Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult).
Travers Smith LLP has advised Investec Bank plc (Investec) on an environmental, social and governance (ESG) linked subscription facility provided to Investindustrial, one of Europe's leading independent investment groups. The facility is one of the first ESG-linked subscription lines in the European fund finance market.
This briefing was updated on 1 October 2020.
Much has been made in the press recently of the additional burdens which Government guidance has placed on businesses, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sectors, in terms of the personal data which they will have to collect about their customers and guests as they ease out of lockdown.
Travers Smith LLP has advised the Azzurri Group and its joint administrators on its sale through administration to US investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners (TowerBrook). The Azzurri Group is a market leader in the Italian casual dining sector, operating ASK Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama with some 300 sites across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.