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A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Landlords, operators and managers of buildings in England that contain 2 or more residential units which share communal spaces will be impacted by the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (the "Regulations") that come into effect on 23 January 2023. They are laid under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ("Fire Safety Order"), and implement the majority of the recommendations set out in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

As legislators and regulators increase their focus on human rights and good governance, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment ("UNPRI"), an international organisation that works to promote the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making, announced at the end of last year the creation of a new collaborative stewardship initiative, Advance.

In this briefing we look at some of the key changes to law and practice that we anticipate taking place in 2023 which will affect the real estate sector, focussing on real estate development, real estate investment, real estate M&A, real estate occupiers, the senior living sector and the private rental sector.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

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Last month the UK Government announced it will give businesses another two years to apply the new UKCA product safety markings and continue to recognise the EU CE mark during the extended transitional period.

The UK Government has today announced a package of reforms to UK financial services regulation. It mostly consists of promises to consult on specific areas for reform over the next couple of years.

A guide to future employment and immigration law.

We reported last summer on the Government's 2021 consultation about the design and implementation of the Building Safety Levy (the "Levy"). It is intended to contribute to the costs of anticipated building safety expenditure to ensure that neither the taxpayer nor tenants have to pay for the remediation of safety defects in the existing high-rise housing stock. Since that consultation, the scope of the Levy has expanded to apply to all new residential developments that require building control approval (with a few exceptions). The Building Safety Act 2022 has also been enacted, section 58 of which gives the Secretary of State broad powers to raise a Levy on any in-scope building.

There is plenty going on of interest to those in the real estate sector, both domestically (e.g. the recent “mini-Budget” and Autumn Statement announcements) and internationally (e.g. the signing of a new UK/Luxembourg double tax treaty), and with so many tax developments progressing it can be difficult to stay on top of things. Our briefing provides a checklist of the key tax issues to be aware of (including future developments) and sets out the actions you should be undertaking now in preparation.

On 18 November 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation on the text of proposed draft guidelines relating to the use of ESG or sustainability related terms in funds' names (the Draft Guidelines).

The Government has confirmed that it will legislate in this Parliament to reform key aspects of UK competition and consumer protection law. There are reports that it is looking to bring these changes into force late next year – so businesses affected by it should start considering the implications now.

On 17 November 2022, the ICO revised its guidance on international transfers, created a new section on transfer risk assessments (TRA) and released a new TRA tool.  The new TRA tool can be used to undertake a transfer risk assessment, which is required where there's a restricted transfer of data outside the UK (not covered by UK "adequacy regulations") that relies upon an "appropriate safeguards" mechanism in Article 46 of the UK GDPR, such as standard contractual clauses.  

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Travers Smith Infrastructure newsletter.

As COP27 drew to a close on the afternoon of Friday 18 November, following two weeks of the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, the first drafts of the COP27 agreement were published, but getting the deal finalised looked to be a difficult task.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.