Morrison & Foerster LLP (JD Supra United Kingdom)

This article is the first in a series through which we intend to explore the alternative protein industry and discuss legal considerations for companies and investors operating within it. Background- With an expanding global population and finite resources, our food systems are under significant pressure...

In dismissing Darty Holdings SAS’ (“Darty”) appeal in a recent decision, Miles J. has confirmed that an English court will look at the actual relationship between the parties involved, rather than the wider context, when considering whether those parties are connected...

On 26 April 2021, the UK’s first sanctions under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/488) (“the Regulations”) came into force. The Regulations are made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and combine with UK Global Human Rights regime introduced in July 2020...

On 12 May 2021, the High Court sanctioned three inter-conditional restructuring plans, under the Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, for certain English subsidiaries of the Virgin Active group, despite major opposition of certain landlords. In the landmark decision, the High Court exercised its discretion to cram-down multiple classes of dissenting landlords in each plan, compromising their...

On 29 April 2021, the Financial Services Bill received Royal Assent in the UK, becoming law as the Financial Services Act 2021 (the “Act”). This is the first significant step for the UK in shaping its financial services regulatory framework following transition out of the European Union (“EU”), with HM Treasury affirming last week that the Act “will ensure the UK remains an open and dynamic...

Pre-packaged sales are often used as a rapid and discreet method to rescue a company, providing business continuity and preserving value. After years of heavy criticism due to the lack of transparency associated with such sales, the approach to pre-packaged sales will be amended by virtue of the Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 (the “Regulations”

One year ago, the UK Government announced that the changes to the off-payroll working rules (also known as IR35) (the “Rules”) would enter into force on 6 April 2021 rather than 6 April 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rules require clients that procure the services of UK-based individuals through an intermediary (so-called “off-payroll workers”) to determine whether there is,

In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to business crime, investigations, and regulatory enforcement from the last three months. As the UK gets used to life outside the EU and implements its independent approach to combatting business crime, we continue to keep an eye on key developments...

The FCA has announced its first criminal prosecution under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations. This is undoubtedly a very significant development for the FCA and should be seen as a warning to firms within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations that the FCA is prepared to exercise its criminal jurisdiction in serious cases, including against major financial institutions...

Green Loan Principles are a set of voluntary guidelines that provide a framework to clarify in which circumstances a loan can be considered “green”. A quick summary of the 4 key components of green loans can be found below...

On 12 February 2021, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the high profile case of Okpabi v Shell, in which it allowed a jurisdictional appeal relating to group claims brought by claimants against a UK domiciled parent company of a multinational group (the Parent) and its Nigerian subsidiary (the Subsidiary). The Supreme Court concluded that the claimants had an arguable case in the English...

The Part A1 Moratorium is an insolvency process that was introduced by the Corporate Insolvency Governance Act 2020 to help financially distressed companies obtain temporary protection from creditor action, while the company attempts to rescue itself as a going concern...

As the UK Government’s COVID-19 support measures ease, there are a number of considerations that directors should be thinking about... Please see full Report below for more information.

A new report concludes that employees and organisations in the financial services industry do not see the crimes and human rights breaches described in the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 as something they can prevent. The report aims to dispel this misconception by providing greater insights, knowledge, and awareness of human exploitation within the UK, and highlights what civil society and private...

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 introduced a new restructuring plan (the “Restructuring Plan”) under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006. As a recent entrant into the market, the Restructuring Plan is now making noise – most notably, when its cross-class cram-down feature was used, for the first time, by a UK subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding B.V. (together with all of its...

The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has succeeded in its “leapfrog” appeal to the Supreme Court in its test case seeking urgent clarity as to the requirement of insurance companies to pay policyholders for business interruption (“BI”) losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic...

The UK’s reformed restructuring regime shows its force with the first successful cross-class cram-down following the introduction of the new restructuring plan. A quick legal update on the key features of the restructuring plan and the analysis of the recent cases can be found in the infographic below...

On 31 December 2020, HMRC unexpectedly announced that the UK will repeal the implementation of the EU Directive on administrative cooperation (“DAC6”).Instead, the UK will introduce its own mandatory disclosure rules (“MDR”) as soon as practicable and will be based on OECD’s model MDR. Now the scope of DAC6 is significantly reduced so that only cross‑border arrangements that meet hallmark D are...

The UK Government announced yesterday (7 January 2021) that leaseholders will be given the right to extend their leases by a maximum term of 990 years at zero ground rent. This announcement forms part of the biggest reform of English property law for almost 50 years in an attempt to make home ownership more equitable and secure...

On 11 December 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated judgment in the case of Mastercard v Merricks. The case concerned the certification procedure for US-style ‘opt-out’ collective (class action) proceedings before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”). Opt-out actions automatically treat anyone who falls within the scope of the proposed class definition as being...

In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to business crime, investigations, and regulatory enforcement from the last three months. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these issues...

On December 2, 2020, the U.K. became the first Western nation to approve the use of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine for mass inoculation. As pressure mounts on U.S. regulators to follow suit, the next 30 days will mark a crucial period in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) timeline for vaccine authorization...

Over the past four years in the United States, there has been an increasing disconnect between public and private action on climate. The current administration de-prioritized (and many believe sabotaged) any efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change. Nevertheless, companies and investors based in the United States maintained or even increased their commitment to emission reduction and...

On 11 November 2020, the UK Government (the “Government”) published the draft National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”), heralding the dawn of a new era through the proposed introduction of the UK’s first standalone foreign investment regime (“NSI Regime”)...

On 11 November 2020, the UK Government (the “Government”) published the draft National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”), heralding the dawn of a new era through the proposed introduction of the UK’s first standalone foreign investment regime (“NSI Regime”)...

As Brexit is finally completed in the UK, from 1 January 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) will be the UK’s standalone medicines and medical devices regulator. Transition from the EU allows the UK to offer fully independent regulatory decisions for both devices and pharmaceuticals, both nationally and in joint work with other international regulators...

As Brexit is finally completed in the UK, from 1 January 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) will be the UK’s standalone medicines and medical devices regulator. Transition from the EU allows the UK to offer fully independent regulatory decisions for both devices and pharmaceuticals, both nationally and in joint work with other international regulators...

In our Quarterly Review, we bring you important UK developments relating to business crime, investigations and regulatory enforcement from the last three months. We commented last month that the scale of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the white collar arena will only be understood in the months to come; that remains the case. In the UK, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) has said

A recent English High Court decision has provided clarity on the scope of legal advice privilege as it relates to foreign lawyers. Background- The English High Court’s decision in PJSC Tatneft v Bogolyubov and others [2020] EWHC 2437 (Comm) stems from a Russian law governed dispute between Tatneft, a major Russian oil company, and four Ukrainian businessmen in relation to an alleged fraud...

When considering options for the recovery of outstanding rent, landlords should remember that, in addition to recourse via an existing guarantor or a rent deposit, another avenue available to them in these challenging times is to pursue previous tenants or guarantors under a lease that has been assigned...