<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

On 6 July 2020, the UK Government enacted the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 ("Sanction Regulations"), which is secondary legislation made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 ("SAMLA"). This marks the first time that the UK has independently sanctioned people or organisations for human rights violations and abuses under a UK-only regime. Although limited in scope at this stage, there are already calls to increase the number of individuals and organisations who are targeted by the new 'Magnitsky' style sanctions regime.

Respect for the human rights of workers in businesses across all jurisdictions and supply chains is now recognised as a core part of corporate compliance and accountability. Yet despite advances in this area, including the introduction of ground-breaking legislation such as the UK's Modern Slavery Act, recent allegations of poor working conditions in Leicester's clothing factories highlight that modern slavery remains a real risk to both UK and overseas workers.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Shawbrook Bank on the provision of a unitranche facility to an SPV owned by funds advised by Westbridge Fund Managers Limited (WestBridge) in relation to its investment in Bespoke Health & Social Care Limited.

This briefing was updated on 2 December 2020.

Travers Smith LLP has advised S⁴Capital plc on the agreed merger of its data and programmatic media practice, MightyHive, with Lens10, a leading Australian digital strategy and analytics consultancy business.

The Chancery Lane Project (CLP) is a collaborative of lawyers working pro bono to create the legal conditions needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. It aims to do this by creating new contract precedents and model laws to enable communities and businesses to fight climate change.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Paragon Bank plc (Paragon) on a senior debt facility provided to Liberis, a leader in alternative finance solutions.

Travers Smith LLP has advised long-standing client The Access Group on the acquisition of Eclipse Legal Systems from Capita plc.  

In this judgment, the court clarified the process that a professional services provider should follow when faced with a regulatory request for client documents, in circumstances where a party contends that all or a portion of those documents are privileged.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Willis Pension Scheme on a longevity swap transaction with Munich Re to manage longevity risk in relation to circa £1 billion of pensioner liabilities. The arrangement covers pensions in payment in the Scheme and provides long term protection for the Scheme against additional costs resulting from pensioners or their dependants living longer than expected.

On 25 June, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) presented its annual report to Parliament, reflecting on progress over the last year and recommending action for the next. Not surprisingly given the extraordinary circumstances, the tone and content of the 2020 report is quite different from previous reports, with a strong focus on a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and a message that short-term measures have the potential to significantly impact long-term climate goals.  

Travers Smith LLP has advised long-standing client The Carlyle Group and other selling shareholders on the sale of Eggplant, the global digital test automation and monitoring software provider, to a subsidiary of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) for $330 million.

On 22 June 2020, the UK government announced its intention to expand the scope of the UK merger control regime, in particular to give itself the ability to intervene in corporate transactions on a wider range of public interest and national security grounds. 

International businesses like English law and feel comfortable using London as a venue to resolve their disputes, particularly those with significant monetary, reputation or precedent value. Brexit will not affect the benefits of using English law or, in the round, the attraction of an English forum, be that the English courts or a London-seated arbitral tribunal.

Bribery and corruption risks are often elevated in times of crisis and affect all aspects of the compliance world. This is particularly true in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a number of factors, including a financially volatile climate, increased cyber-security threats and diverted corporate focus towards other COVID-19 risks.

Travers Smith has advised the management team of Inmarsat on the implementation of a new management incentive plan following the completion of a take private transaction by a four party consortium of Apax, Warburg Pincus, The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.

HMRC frequently contact taxpayers to ask questions about their tax returns on an informal basis rather than under a statutory enquiry process. As the questions are informal, taxpayers can choose whether to engage with HMRC and it is perhaps this voluntary aspect that sometimes leads them to take a more relaxed approach than they would in a formal enquiry. 

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our new newsletter, which is intended to capture the key developments in the English disputes arena over the past three months. We hope that you will find it an interesting read, whether you are a litigator, either in private practice or in-house, or a generalist wanting to keep abreast of the goings on in this space.

On Friday 29 May, Travers Smith's client, Pay.UK (which operates the UK's retail payment systems such as Bacs and Faster Payments) launched the Request to Pay (RtP) legal framework. Its launch is a significant milestone for Pay.UK as it seeks to deliver on its promise to promote innovation in the UK's dynamic and fast-moving payments market.