<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

As of 30 June 2023, there are only 184 properties registered as "commonhold" within England and Wales, which is less than 0.01 % of the total number of properties in the same area. This evidences the extent to which the current form of commonhold ownership in the UK is unsuccessful.

Data is often described as AI's "lifeblood" but there's widespread concern about personal data being unlawfully exploited or processed using AI tools. While the future approach to regulation of AI is still being heavily debated, existing data protection legislation, such as the GDPR and its UK equivalent, is likely to play an influential role – not least because regulators already have powers which they can use to oversee the new technology.

On 2 October 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a trends, risks and vulnerabilities (TRV) risk analysis report on ESG names and claims in the EU fund industry (the report). While undoubtedly of interest, it should be noted that this is not the reply to ESMA's 2022 fund names consultation – we are still waiting for that (see below for details).

The UK's merger control regime is one of very few voluntary and non-suspensory regimes in the world. This means that, despite jurisdictional thresholds being met, parties to transactions do not need to notify their transactions to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in advance and may complete without clearance.

On 28 September 2023, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published their second annual report (Report) on the extent of voluntary disclosures of principal adverse impacts (PAIs) under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Based on feedback from national competent authorities (NCAs), the ESAs made some preliminary recommendations to the European Commission on best practices, on entity-level statements and, in the context of the European Commission's comprehensive assessment of SFDR,  asked the Commission to consider wider points that would require changes to SFDR itself. This is separate from the Commission's Targeted Consultation and Public Consultation on SFDR – see our briefing.

BlueCrest – all about salaried members – our briefing is here.

As Autumn kicks in, we look at 6 real estate sub-sectors and consider recent trends in law and practice.

In our new Talking. Secondaries. series, we will seek to demystify the secondaries and synthetic secondaries markets and provide insights into the variety of tools available to GPs when looking to provide liquidity to their limited partners and their portfolios.

The UK Government is consulting on further changes to consumer protection law, including measures to tackle hidden fees, drip pricing and fake reviews, which have particular relevance for online businesses. As we explain below, the consultation also covers online platforms, the ability for consumers to claim damages for unfair practices and measures which are also relevant to bricks and mortar retailers, including rules on unit pricing and price promotions.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Welcome to the first edition of the Travers Smith Outsourcing Spotlight. This issue highlights a number of hot topics, including the impact of AI on outsourcing, changes to the UK's regimes for data protection and cybersecurity and proposed reforms to UK employment law, including TUPE.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued CP23/20: Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector which sets out its long-awaited proposals to introduce a new regulatory framework on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the financial sector.

Dispute Resolution Partner Joe Moore and Dispute Resolution Associate Emma Gittings have contributed to ThoughtLeaders4 Competition Law & Litigation Magazine. Their article, 'Less haste more speed?' was first published in Issue 2 of the magazine and can be viewed below.

The abolishment of ground rent in residential long leases comes as part of a package of Government reforms designed to curtail unfair practices in the leasehold market, which we explored in our previous briefing. From 1 April 2023,[1] this applies to all new leases granted with a term of more than 21 years in the senior living sector, though will not impact existing ones. The changes, brought about by the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 (the Act), have necessitated developers, investors and owners of retirement housing reforming their existing leasehold structures, which have typically relied upon ground rent as a way to recoup the enlarged capital costs of constructing enhanced communal spaces within retirement schemes.

The European Commission has issued a Targeted Consultation and a Public Consultation on the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).  The Consultations include a series of questions on the practical functioning of the SFDR and its possible reform. The EU appears to have recognised that the SFDR is not as user-friendly as it had hoped and is seeking to assess its potential shortcomings and explore potential changes. 

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has firmly upheld the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in the salaried members rules case of HMRC v Bluecrest Capital Management (UK) LLP, rejecting HMRC's call for a narrow interpretation of the "significant influence" exclusion.

In this video, Employment Knowledge Counsel Adam Rice and Anna West take a look at forthcoming developments in employment and immigration law for the rest of 2023 and beyond.