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In Issue 8 of ThoughtLeaders4 Competition Magazine, Joseph Moore and Imogen Nolan discuss the Court of Appeal's decision in the Umbrella Interchange litigation regarding the law of limitation and its implications for competition claims in the UK post-Brexit.
The long-awaited Arbitration Act 2025 was signed into law on Monday 24 February 2025. The Act makes a number of targeted improvements to the Arbitration Act 1996, which remains the legal framework for arbitration in this jurisdiction. Its main provisions will enter into force on a date yet to be determined, although the government has confirmed that the new Act "will be commenced through regulations as soon as practicable".
Three months after the European Commission announced a "simplification revolution", and after six weeks of intense speculation, rumours and leaks, we finally have the official texts of the sustainability "Omnibus" package. It is now clear that there will be significant changes to EU sustainability regulation. However, since this package needs approval from the co-legislators, it is unlikely to be the final word. Opponents of the Omnibus have pointed out that what was billed as simplification has turned into significant deregulation – although the European Commission is not labelling it that way.
Welcome to our series of podcasts focusing on international employment law.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
In late 2024, the UK Government announced its intention to "crack down on late payments" and outlined a number of measures intended to support this. We look at what the changes mean and why it's more important than ever to take late payment seriously as an issue.
Increased corporate, societal and political focus on ESG has resulted in an increase in ESG-related litigation globally. These claims are emerging across many jurisdictions and relate to a variety of ESG issues including "greenwashing", climate change, business and human rights claims and environmental contamination.
On 22 January 2025, the Institutional Limited Partners Association ("ILPA") released its much anticipated updated Reporting Template and a new Performance Template, following extensive consultation with the industry last year. Adoption of the templates is voluntary, but investors may put pressure on sponsors to adopt these new templates. (Please see our briefing on ILPA's Quarterly Reporting Standards Initiative for information on the background to the Performance Template and the changes to the Reporting Template.)
On 7 February 2025, the Government published an open consultation entitled "Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: 2025 update" (the "Third Consultation"). The Government proposes to raise the minimum energy efficiency standard required of privately rented homes in England and Wales to the equivalent of Energy Performance Certificate ("EPC") C by 2030, and this consultation follows on from the previous government's 2020 consultation (the "First Consultation").
PFI deals have recently been in the news, with headlines about disputes between public sector customers and private sector owners and operators as contracts near their expiry date. We look at the issues around PFI expiry and the risks and opportunities this presents for private sector involvement in this area.
With the first UK Labour Government since 2010 now firmly with their feet under the table, this is a good opportunity to take stock of how the Government is approaching national security reviews under the UK's National Security and Investment Act ("NSIA") regime.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published the provisional decision in its cloud services market investigation. It provisionally recommends that the cloud service activities of the two largest players, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, should be investigated using the CMA's new powers to regulate Big Tech under the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
In February 2024, HMRC controversially amended its published guidance on the salaried member rules to say that, in its view, increases in capital contributions made solely to fall outside the salaried members rules would be ineffective. Following strong concerns and disquiet expressed by many (including those in the private capital industry), HMRC decided to conduct an internal review of those changes.
The consumer law provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 are expected to come into effect in April 2025. As well as new rules on pricing, fake reviews and subscription contracts, B2C businesses will face a much tougher enforcement regime – with the prospect of fines of up to 10% of global turnover. We explain how you can protect your business from the risks and even use the legislation to your advantage.
The Bank of England has now opened applications for its Contingent NBFI Repo Facility (CNRF). The facility will enable non-banks such as DB pension schemes, LDI funds and insurers to access cash following an increase in demand for liquidity during times of severe market stress.
The Court of Appeal in Kumar Limbu & Others v Dyson Technology Limited & Others [2024] EWCA Civ 1564 ("Limbu CoA") has overturned a High Court decision[1] which had declined jurisdiction to hear claims against members of the Dyson Group brought by 24 migrant workers from Nepal and Bangladesh. This means that the claim, which seeks to hold the Defendants liable for alleged forced labour practices and similar human rights abuses at the facilities of one of the Dyson Group's Malaysian suppliers, will now proceed in the English courts.
This article was first published in the January 2025 issue of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.