<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

In recent years, corporations have increasingly prioritised ESG issues, often prompting them to collaborate in pursuit of sustainability goals.

Travers Smith LLP is delighted to announce the hire of Jeremy Dennison as a partner in the Private Equity & Financial Sponsors (PEFS) group, further strengthening its market leading Private Equity offering.

Travers Smith LLP is delighted to announce the hire of Funds lawyer John Daghlian as a Senior Consultant, further strengthening the firm's Asset Management sector group.

Travers Smith has advised Brooks Macdonald Group plc on the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Brooks Macdonald Asset Management (International) Limited and its subsidiaries (BMI), to Canaccord Genuity Wealth (International) Holdings Limited for a total consideration of up to £50.85m.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions on the establishment and launch of its semi-liquid strategic credit fund, Oaktree Strategic Credit Fund (SICAV), under its existing Luxembourg UCI Part II umbrella structure. 

Travers Smith LLP advised longstanding client Nest Corporation – the trustee of the National Employment Savings Trust – on the acquisition of a ten percent shareholding in Industry Super Holdings, the holding company of IFM Investors, a global institutional investor and asset manager operating across the infrastructure, debt investments and private equity markets. 

In this edition, we focus on the infrastructure implications of the new Labour Government's first Budget, including for energy, vehicles, telecoms, housing and major projects.  We also look at new initiatives affecting the UK water industry and UK infrastructure investment more generally.  Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any of the issues discussed below.

In its 2024 Manifesto (the "Manifesto"), as highlighted in our post-election Infrastructure Spotlight, the Labour Party made some ambitious commitments towards accelerating the UK on its path to net zero, in addition to overhauling and regenerating the UK's ageing infrastructure, by using public investment "to crowd in private funding".

The Water (Special Measures) Bill (the "Bill") was introduced into Parliament on 4 September 2024 and is currently at the Committee stage in the House of Lords ("HoL"). As part of its announcement introducing the Bill, the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs ("DEFRA") emphasised that the Bill is intended to significantly strengthen the power of water industry regulators in the UK – holding water companies to account "where they have failed to deliver for the environment and customers and begin to restore trust in the industry".

In the first episode of our series From Manifesto to Budget, Tax Partner Elena Rowlands, and Senior Associates Tom Margesson and Sarah Roman from our Asset Management Tax team provide an overview of the carried interest tax rules and discuss what measures the Government might introduce in the upcoming Autumn Budget 2024 to close what it has termed the "carried interest loophole". 

In the second episode of this series, Partner Mahesh Varia, Senior Associate Claire Prentice and Trainee Michelle Soo from our Tax team, discuss the potential reforms to the tax treatment of individuals who are not UK-domiciled ("non-doms") in the upcoming Autumn Budget 2024. They cover the Labour party's election manifesto, updates by the new Labour government since winning the election and what we might expect in the Budget.

In the fourth episode of this series, Tax Partner Hannah Manning, Knowledge Counsel Kulsoom Hadi and Trainee Solicitors Josh Channon and Amar Degon discuss the possible reforms to capital gains tax to be announced in the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. The team reviews speculation from recent commentary and delves into past budget announcements, as well as discussing comparisons with CGT rates in other countries.

In the third episode of series, Head of Tax, Russell Warren, Associate Ross McGregor and Trainee Nadia Ashbridge discuss the possible reforms to key business taxes including Corporation Tax, VAT and Employer NICs expected to be announced in the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. The team also consider Labour's manifesto pledge promising a Business Taxes Roadmap and what this might mean for businesses in the longer term.

Jeremy Elmore and Emily Clark were contributing editors to the latest edition of the International Comparative Legal Guide - Alternative Investment Funds 2024. Travers Smith also contributed two articles.

Background

A series of cases have been working their way through the UK courts in which HMRC has sought to apply the tax charge for "miscellaneous income" to variants of a remuneration planning scheme used by fund managers.  In December last year the Court of Appeal, in BlueCrest Capital Management LP and others, upheld HMRC's view in relation to one iteration of the relevant arrangements, and that court has now considered another in HMRC v HFFX LLP and others.

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.

Travers Smith LLP has announced today the hire of Joel Grossmark as a partner in the Funds group, further strengthening its market-leading retailisation practice. 

Travers Smith LLP has advised Alcazar Energy Partners II SLP (SCSp) ("AEP-II"), Alcazar Energy's renewable energy fund, on its successful final closing of US$490m.

Continuation vehicles are typically structured as limited partnerships, with the investors (both rolling and new) constituting limited partners in the vehicle and the GP acting as manager of the vehicle. From a regulatory perspective, this continuation vehicle will typically fall within one of two regulatory categories: an alternative investment fund (“AIF”) or a non-AIF collective investment scheme (“CIS”).

In late 2023 the UK's Energy Act 2023 was passed into law. It has possibly gone a little under the radar in some quarters, despite being hailed by Ofgem as the most significant and wide-ranging piece of energy legislation in over a decade.