Our knowledge resources reflect the breadth and depth of our expertise, our insight into the issues which matter to your business, and our understanding of the markets in which you operate.
In light of the ongoing uncertainty over increases in US tariffs, we look at the contractual implications for both suppliers and customers involved in international trade. This briefing discusses who pays, including the impact of Incoterms, and whether parties can avoid their contractual obligations based on force majeure clauses, material adverse change (MAC) clauses or frustration.
Our regular round-up of recent and forthcoming developments in law and practice for in-house counsel.
Travers Smith has advised Equisoft Inc. on the sale of Altus Consulting, its UK insurance, investments and financial services advisory services business, to Accenture.
Travers Smith LLP has advised Crossbay on its latest UK acquisition of the 65,000 sq ft single-let warehouse from abrdn, taking its UK portfolio to over 1m sq ft.
6 April 2025 has now been confirmed as the "go live" date for most of the consumer law provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ("DMCCA"). These changes will give the UK one of the toughest enforcement regimes in the world, with the prospect of fines of up to 10% of global turnover on B2C businesses for infringing UK consumer law.
Paddy Power's consumer terms and conditions failed to protect it against having to pay out over £1 million after an online game mistakenly indicated that a player had won a "Monster Jackpot". We discuss what lessons can be drawn from this dispute and two previous cases involving similar claims for million pound wins. We also look at the wider implications for B2C contracts, beyond the sphere of online games.
For businesses within the scope of the Online Safety Act, achieving compliance and swiftly adapting to extensive new guidance is a significant challenge. The contrasting approaches in Europe to online safety and the tensions with the US over content moderation further complicate the landscape.
Welcome to our series of bitesize Energy & Infrastructure videos, where we will be providing digestible horizon scan updates on the key developments across ten different areas of sustainable infrastructure that we will see more of in the coming years.
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.
Travers Smith has advised Steve Madden (Nasdaq: SHOO), a leading designer and marketer of fashion footwear, accessories and apparel, on a definitive agreement to acquire UK-based Kurt Geiger from a group led by Cinven for an enterprise value of approximately £289m in cash.
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.
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.
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.
In this short video, Richard Offord, Katie Hindley and Jonathan Rush provide a 5 minute primer on key pricing issues in commercial contracts. Topics covered include whether suppliers can raise prices unilaterally, how to deal with inflation, cost plus and open book pricing, audit clauses, "best price" or MFN obligations, price-matching clauses and benchmarking.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is already conducting a market investigation into cloud service providers, including Amazon and Microsoft. On 1 January 2025, it gained extensive new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ("DMCC Act"). We look at whether these developments could lead to tougher regulation of major players in cloud services and what that would mean for their customers.
In difficult economic times, company boards (both public and private) are under increasing pressure to demonstrably deliver maximum value for shareholders. One method of unlocking hidden value, particularly in larger corporate groups, is by undertaking a 'carve-out' transaction and creating a win/win for Buyer and Seller.
Travers Smith has advised Safestore Holdings plc, a long-standing client and one of Europe's largest owners and operators of self-storage with properties in the UK, France, Netherlands, Spain and Belgium, on its 50/50 joint venture with Nuveen, a leading global asset manager, to acquire Easybox, Italy's second largest self-storage operator by number of stores, for €175m.
A claim against a UK mobile telecoms provider by its current and former franchisees alleges that the franchisor acted in bad faith. We look at what role good faith has to play in franchise agreements – and whether we are likely to see more disputes over this issue in future.
The Supreme Court's long-awaited judgment in SkyKick v Sky has made it easier to challenge trade mark registrations in relation to overly broad classes of goods and services on the basis that they were applied for in bad faith. This briefing provides an overview of this significant decision and what it means for trade mark owners.