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This is the second of recent briefing notes we have produced in respect of the speciality finance sector, in which funders lend into financial institutions which themselves makes loans available to companies, partnerships, sole traders and individual consumers ("Customer Loans"). 

This briefing note is informed by analysis of the transactions on which we advised during 2018, together with other publicly reported transactions and market data.

Is the UK's anti-bribery regime about to be put back in the spotlight? A House of Lords Select Committee has published its long-awaited report on the UK Bribery Act 2010.

In this Chambers Global Practice Guide, the definitive global law guides offering comparative analysis from top ranked lawyers, Sam Kay and Elena Rowlands write about investment funds.

This chapter of Global Legal Insights Fund Finance 2019 considers a number of key structural and documentary legal issues that should be considered by any manager thinking about entering into derivatives transactions at fund level.

Could Brexit allow parties to avoid their contractual obligations? The outcome of the recent dispute between the European Medicines Agency and Canary Wharf suggests that the courts may be reluctant to accept such arguments.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers

In 2014, the European Union adopted a package of restrictive measures targeting sectoral cooperation and exchanges with the Russian Federation. These controls focus on certain sectors of the Russian economy, initially those specifically linked to Russia's involvement in Eastern Ukraine (the "Sectoral Sanctions"). If the UK leaves the EU with no deal in place, the scope of the Sectoral Sanctions will encompass certain UK entities connected to the 11 in-scope Russian entities.

The judge in the recent case of Canary Wharf v EMA has found in favour of the landlord, Canary Wharf. Brexit will not frustrate the EMA's lease on either of the grounds argued: supervening illegality or frustration of common purpose.

2019 brings with it the second round of gender pay gap reporting figures. The statistics for those firms who have already published their April 2018 figures show that approximately 40% have reported a widening of the gap from the previous year.

Andrew Ross and Sarah Quy discuss a case where the court emphasised the public interest in honouring private rights.

If the UK departs the EU on 29 March 2019 without an agreement in place, manufacturers and importers of industrial and consumer goods selling into the UK and/or EU will face a range of compliance and market access challenges. With fewer than five weeks remaining, 'no-deal' contingency plans should be implemented.

The question of which use class applies to a care-home for the elderly or others in need of care has been addressed once more in a recent Cornish appeal decision, in which dwellings for over-55s were classified as C3 rather than C2, despite being intended for occupiers needing a minimum of two hours of care per week. This is subtly distinguished on its facts from a case in Devon last year, and highlights the need for national planning policy to classify care-homes as either a flexible C3-C2 use, or within a use class of its own.

This article provides a comparison between the French and English systems for competition law dawn raids. It sets out the practical differences concerning the authorization regimes, the investigation and the applicable appeals procedures.

In the briefing below, we consider the Supreme Court's recent decision on contractual interpretation and implication of terms in Wells v Devani [2019] UKSC 4, which provides a timely reminder of the way in which the courts will approach oral contracts and the need where possible to commit such contracts to writing.

The government's Brexit advice urges businesses trading with the EU to review their contracts for the supply of goods – particularly those based on Incoterms – to ensure that they remain appropriate in the event of "no deal". What are Incoterms, why do they matter and what changes should you make in the light of Brexit?