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Luxembourg is winning favour as a fund jurisdiction, but the UK still holds plenty of attractions for investors, say Sam Kay and Emily Clark of Travers Smith.

The government has published draft regulations (the Companies (Directors' Remuneration Policy and Directors' Remuneration Report) Regulations 2019) which will, if implemented, make changes to the directors' remuneration regime for quoted companies in order to comply with the new EU Shareholder Rights Directive ("SRDII").

Any company that operated an employee share incentive arrangement (whether tax-advantaged or not) in the 2018/2019 tax year must file an online return with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by 6 July 2019 to avoid penalties. An initial penalty of £100 will be due if a return is just one day late.

Brexit will have an impact on UK merger control and competition law – but it's not as big as you might think, at least in the short term. Here's what you need to know, as well as an update on likely timings.

In July 2018 we circulated a client briefing note outlining the European Parliament's approval of a revised proposal to amend EMIR (also known as "EMIR 2.1", which can be found here). This briefing note outlines a development that has occurred in respect of EMIR 2.1.

This is the second of recent briefing notes we have produced in respect of the speciality finance sector, in which funders lend into financial institutions which themselves makes loans available to companies, partnerships, sole traders and individual consumers ("Customer Loans"). 

This briefing note is informed by analysis of the transactions on which we advised during 2018, together with other publicly reported transactions and market data.

Is the UK's anti-bribery regime about to be put back in the spotlight? A House of Lords Select Committee has published its long-awaited report on the UK Bribery Act 2010.

In this Chambers Global Practice Guide, the definitive global law guides offering comparative analysis from top ranked lawyers, Sam Kay and Elena Rowlands write about investment funds.

This chapter of Global Legal Insights Fund Finance 2019 considers a number of key structural and documentary legal issues that should be considered by any manager thinking about entering into derivatives transactions at fund level.

Could Brexit allow parties to avoid their contractual obligations? The outcome of the recent dispute between the European Medicines Agency and Canary Wharf suggests that the courts may be reluctant to accept such arguments.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers

In 2014, the European Union adopted a package of restrictive measures targeting sectoral cooperation and exchanges with the Russian Federation. These controls focus on certain sectors of the Russian economy, initially those specifically linked to Russia's involvement in Eastern Ukraine (the "Sectoral Sanctions"). If the UK leaves the EU with no deal in place, the scope of the Sectoral Sanctions will encompass certain UK entities connected to the 11 in-scope Russian entities.

The judge in the recent case of Canary Wharf v EMA has found in favour of the landlord, Canary Wharf. Brexit will not frustrate the EMA's lease on either of the grounds argued: supervening illegality or frustration of common purpose.

2019 brings with it the second round of gender pay gap reporting figures. The statistics for those firms who have already published their April 2018 figures show that approximately 40% have reported a widening of the gap from the previous year.