<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

In November 2020 the Supreme Court unanimously decided in Alexander Devine Children’s Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd [2020] UKSC 45 that the housing association who had taken a transfer of housing from a developer, who had knowingly built in breach of a restrictive covenant, was not entitled to secure its release or modification under section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925. Despite the pressing need for affordable housing, the Court held that the developer should not be rewarded for presenting the Tribunal with a fait accompli.

This briefing was updated in February 2021. 

The end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 will make a difference to the way that the UK and EU merger control regimes work. Here's what you need to know:

This briefing was updated in February 2021.

What difference does the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 make to UK and EU competition law? And how likely is it that the UK will increasingly diverge from the EU in its approach to competition law?

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

With the end of the Brexit transition period fast approaching, as the UK enters a new era in charge of its own data protection regime, and with the Government's ambitious aspirations for a high tech, data-driven post-Brexit economy, in our recent webinar we looked at:

Many contracts require contractual rights to be exercised within a particular timeframe. What if you miss the deadline, but there was some justification for your delay?

In Telefónica UK Ltd v Office of Communications [2020] EWCA Civ 1374, the Court of Appeal allowed the claimant's appeal against an order awarding it only two of the four specified forms of enhanced relief available under CPR 36.17(4) after having beaten its own Part 36 settlement offer at trial. The case provides welcome clarity on the proper application of the court's discretion pursuant to CPR 36.17(4) and an important reminder of the cost consequences of failing to beat a claimant's Part 36 offer at trial.

Disruption to goods supply chains is widely expected after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020. Even businesses which are well prepared for new border processes could be caught up in delays.

The EU has issued four proposed new pieces of legislation comprising a wide range of digital finance rules, including on digital operational resilience, markets in crypto-assets and DLT market infrastructures.

The EU has issued a proposed regulation on digital operational resilience which may have practical implications for certain financial market infrastructure providers, including central securities depositories, central counterparties and trading venues.

The Supreme Court's decision in Stoffel & Co v Grondona [2020] UKSC 42 affirms and applies the "trio of conditions" test for the defence of illegality, established by the Supreme Court in Patel v Mirza [2016] UKSC 42.

The TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) has launched a consultation on the development and use of forward-looking climate-related metrics by the financial sector.

Brexit is likely to have a major impact on goods supply chains, whether or not a trade deal can be reached with the EU. This checklist sets out the key issues that UK importers need to consider. 

Brexit is likely to have a major impact on goods supply chains, whether or not a trade deal can be reached with the EU. This checklist sets out the key issues that UK exporters need to consider.

On 12 October 2020, the High Court handed down a landmark judgment regarding the interpretation of a Material Adverse Effect ("MAE") clause under a Share Purchase Agreement ("SPA"). This judgment is an as-yet rare example of consideration by an English Court of the appropriate construction of MAE clauses, and of litigation specifically arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government is consulting on plans to strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) to aid businesses with fewer than 50 staff in the recovery of late payments from larger businesses. Among other things, it proposes that the SBC should be able to impose payment awards and fines.

It has been just over a week since Chancellor Rishi Sunak made a statement to Parliament setting out the Government's approach to financial services following the UK's imminent departure from the EU on 31 December; a statement that has since sparked much debate, intrigue and (cautious) excitement in the fintech, market infrastructure and payments space.