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Head of Derivatives & Structured Products Jonathan Gilmour, and Partners Peter Hughes and Joseph Wren have authored a chapter on derivatives at fund level in the latest edition of Global Legal Insights' annual fund finance publication. This chapter highlights some key structural and legal issues that should be considered by a private capital manager thinking about entering into derivatives transactions at fund level as part of its risk management.

After much delay, the UK is finally introducing full border controls on imports of goods from the EU. We look at what's changing over the course of the next 12 months.

Partner Rob Fell, Senior Counsel Michele Cheng and Knowledge Counsel Hannah Walker, in Travers Smith's Dispute Resolution Team, have authored a chapter entitled 'Parallel Civil Litigation – The UK Perspective' in GIR's 'The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations – Edition 8'.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the previous decision of the High Court to sanction a restructuring plan ("Plan") that had been proposed by the Adler Group ("Adler") should be set aside. The decision marks the first appeal in relation to a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 ("Companies Act") and the decision offers clarity on the approach to restructuring plans, particularly when considering issues of "fairness".

The Pensions Regulator has published its General Code of Practice, setting out its expectations for good governance in occupational, personal and public service pension schemes. The Code has been laid before Parliament and is expected to take effect on 27 March 2024.

Pensions Partner, Andy Lewis, and Head of Derivatives & Structured Products Partner, Jonathan Gilmour, have jointly contributed to the recently published International Comparative Legal Guide on Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2024.

Private Equity and Financial Sponsors Knowledge Counsel Carys Clipper, Director of Operational Risk & Environment Sarah-Jane Denton, Financial Services & Markets Partner Michael Raymond and Senior Counsel to our Finance group Laura Smith have jointly authored the United Kingdom chapter of this year's Environmental, Social, & Governance Law 2024 guide.

Following the entry into force of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 ("FSMA 2023"), the Bank of England, FCA and PRA (the "Regulators") are consulting on new rules and a joint Supervisory Statement on their new powers to regulate critical third parties ("CTPs") which are designated by HM Treasury because of their systemic importance to authorised firms and financial market infrastructures ("FMIs"). This significant expansion of the Regulators' supervisory remits will usher in an entirely new era for CTPs, which (including those that are not based or even incorporated in the UK) will need to comply with a range of rules on governance, operational continuity and regulatory engagement as well as other areas.  

It is relatively rare for contractual limitations of liability to fall foul of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) – so you could be forgiven for thinking that businesses don't need to be too concerned about UCTA. But a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal challenges some commonly held assumptions about the legislation and may mean that it becomes more of an issue in future – particularly for suppliers using standard terms.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

The EU Data Act (EDA), which sets out new data sharing rules that will apply in respect of connected products, came into force on 11 January 2024. While its provisions will not be applicable for a while yet, businesses are likely to need the intervening period to scope out, and plan for, the impact that the EDA will have on their product designs, commercially sensitive information, terms and conditions, costs and GDPR compliance.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Featured in Practical Law, Senior Counsel Kyle Rainsford explores the various tax issues, duties and regimes that are likely to arise in the construction industry.  

I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That's where the fun is.

This update provides a brief summary of some notable recent developments from a UK sanctions perspective, including the introduction of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation ("OTSI"), which will be tasked with trade sanctions implementation and enforcement in the UK, along with further guidance on a potentially wide interpretation of the "ownership and control" test, and the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's ("OFSI") 2022-2023 Annual Review.

After months of negotiations, on 14 December, the EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on the principles that will underpin the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D").

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In a recent series of cases, HMRC has successfully argued that amounts paid to managers under a remuneration planning arrangement should be subject to income tax as "miscellaneous income". In HMRC v BlueCrest Capital Management LP and other, we now have the Court of Appeal's take on the issue, and it too has supported HMRC's view.