<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

This article was first published in the July 2024 issue of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.

In this article Knowledge Counsel James Bell looks at issues to consider when protecting the guarantor’s position in finance transactions (or indeed other commercial transactions) and how that might be negotiated.

Recent developments suggested that prosecutions under the so-called French Blocking Statute (the "FBS") would become more likely.  But a High Court decision has followed the old authorities in deciding that – even where a party has letters from the relevant French authority indicating that they may be in breach of the FBS – disclosure would be ordered in the English courts via normal civil procedure, without recourse to the Hague Convention. 

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D") was finally published on 5 July 2024, concluding a long and unprecedentedly turbulent legislative process. Businesses now have the certainty they need to start assessing whether they are in scope, and if so, what they need to do to comply with the demanding due diligence obligations under the law, and by when.

In this edition, we look at what a Labour Government could mean for investors in and operators of UK infrastructure.  We also provide an update on disclosure rules for corporates, greenwashing rules for funds and a range of other topics, from EV charging, housing and planning through to tax and expiry of PFI/PPP deals. Please get in touch if you'd like to discuss any of the issues discussed below.

Today the FCA has published the final version of its new listing rules and confirmed that the revised rulebook will take effect on 29 July 2024.

We wrote previously about the UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA's) order for the Cérélia/Jus-Rol deal to be unwound, highlighting the material risks of opting not to engage with the CMA in relation to M&A activity in the UK. 

The legislation setting out the EU's revised anti-money laundering regime has been published in the Official Journal. 

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers

New day, new Government! With the sun having set on the previous 14 years of Conservative administration, Labour have now seized the reins.

With the Labour Party winning a landslide in the 2024 General Election, the UK is likely to see significant changes to employment law. In the leadup to the election, the Labour party promised the "biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation".

Financier Worldwide: 'Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns have climbed the boardroom agenda in recent years. It is an area which requires innovative solutions and pragmatic problem solving.

Despite continued global economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and with the UK general election today, H1 2024 has seen improved levels of public M&A activity in the UK. There was a total of 30 firm offers announced in H1 2024 for UK public companies listed on the Main Market or AIM (25 in H1 2023). A further 10 public companies are currently subject to a 28-day put up or shut up (PUSU) period, and there have been six formal sale processes.

This briefing is for trustees and managers of DC occupational pension schemes. It outlines the latest legal developments and ongoing initiatives in the DC world, with links to issues of our regular publication 'What's Happening in Pensions' (WHiP) and other resources for those who want to read more. 

In February 2024, the Law Commission published – by way of a short consultation – its draft Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill (the Bill).

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

Artificial intelligence tools can be a game changer in outsourcing and other contracts for services - promising big wins in terms of costs, time, accuracy, scalability and productivity, to benefit both sides of the negotiating table. To reap those benefits, it is important to stay on top of the "new" risks associated with the use of AI in these arrangements.

In commercial contracts, the terms of payment are usually a key element of the parties' bargain – so if a customer fails to pay a material sum on time, then surely the supplier should have a right to terminate the contract? Quite possibly, but in practice it may not be as straightforward as this – and if the supplier reaches for the "big red termination button" prematurely, without a careful assessment of its rights, it can be a costly mis-step.

In its decision dismissing the appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunal's ("CAT" or "Tribunal") order for two Defendant groups to use a single joint expert at trial, the Court of Appeal has made clear that the Tribunal's duty to restrict expert evidence to that which is reasonably required to resolve the dispute is the paramount consideration. While the issues of proportionality and the potential for conflicts of interest are relevant considerations in determining whether separate experts are required, those considerations must be assessed against the requirement to dispose of cases justly.