<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

On 29 June 2023, having completed its passage through parliament, the Financial Services and Markets Bill received Royal Assent.

The recent (so far, unsuccessful) action brought by activist environmental charity ClientEarth against the directors of Shell highlights concerns around whether boards of UK companies are taking sufficient account of the wider environmental and social impacts of their decision-making and activities. In this article, we look at some of the arguments for and against changing UK law on directors' duties, in the context of a constantly evolving backdrop.

Read and listen to "What’s Happening in Pensions", our regular news briefing covering topical pensions law developments.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act (REUL Act) has recently received Royal Assent. We look at the potential impact on data protection, e-commerce, tech and IP, together with the bigger picture on divergence from the EU in these areas.

The controversial legislation to enable the Government to revoke or reform retained EU law (the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act or REUL Act) has now Received Royal Assent. Although some of the most heavily criticised aspects of the legislation have been removed, it will still create a climate of uncertainty around retained EU law.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

On 10 May 2023, the UK Government announced plans to legislate to limit the length of non-compete restrictions in an employment context to three months.

The Government has announced plans to limit the length of non-compete clauses in employment contracts in Great Britain to three months. This would represent a significant change to the current position.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have come to the fore of real estate investment strategy during recent years. In the first of our briefings on this topic, we consider three developments in legislation in the "E" space and how those developments present challenges but also opportunities for the care home and senior living sectors to contribute to the overall debate on how to implement "E" objectives within the built environment. 

In the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, the UK Government made a broad commitment not to reduce workers' rights – even though many supporters of Brexit often cited aspects of EU-derived employment law as prime examples of "unnecessary EU red tape".

In their recent "In Practice" article, What can a borrower do when a lender fails to fund?, Donald Lowe and James Bell examine market standard provisions designed to mitigate the risk posed by so called "Defaulting Lenders" and explore the options for a Borrower faced with a Lender that is unable to honour its lending commitments. This article was first published in the May 2023 issue of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have come to the fore of real estate investment strategy during recent years. In the first of our briefings on this topic, we consider three developments in legislation in the "E" space and how those developments present challenges but also opportunities for the care home and senior living sectors to contribute to the overall debate on how to implement "E" objectives within the built environment. 

We are pleased to present the first edition of "Pensions De-risking", our periodical update on developments in the pensions de-risking marketplace. This first edition includes topical content on illiquid investments in the context of de-risking activity and links to other Travers Smith content on the increasingly recurring theme of pension scheme surpluses.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Travers Smith Tax Partner, Hannah Manning and Tax Senior Counsel, Elissavet Grout have authored an article published in the Solicitors Journal.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

Reform of the UK listing, prospectus and secondary fundraising regimes is at an advanced stage, with the FCA's new listing rules having come into effect on 29 July 2024. The new rules represent a radical overhaul of the previous listing regime.

Read and listen to "What’s Happening in Pensions", our regular news briefing covering topical pensions law developments.

At the start of the 2023/24 financial year, we focus on 5 focal points of interest to the real estate sector: regulatory change, updates to real estate taxation, some proposed changes to the planning regime, ongoing reform to construction law and some caselaw reports from real estate disputes.

Since April 2022, the UK has had a new tax efficient vehicle – the Qualifying Asset Holding Company (QAHC). This is a key change in the UK’s tax strategy for asset management, part of a wide-ranging review into the UK funds landscape being carried out by the government, designed to enhance the UK’s attractiveness to the sector. The QAHC allows the UK to compete with vehicles on offer in rival European fund centres, in particular Luxembourg and Ireland.