Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (JD Supra United Kingdom)

The UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has published its proposals to amend the Listing Rules relating to special purpose acquisition companies ("SPACs"), having considered Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review Report.

What is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? The GDPR is an EU law that was passed by parliament and went into effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR unifies the EU under a single data protection regime for all member states and requires organizations to safeguard personal data and uphold the privacy rights of anyone in the EU.

In November 2020, the CFTC published two no-action letters extending previously granted no-action relief related to Brexit. The relief was intended to provide “greater certainty to the global marketplace” in connection with Brexit.

The CFTC recently published Brexit-related Letter No. 20-42 (December 4, 2020) in response to a request from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA). In its request, ISDA stated that the expiration of the Brexit transition period...

The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the UK regulator of LIBOR, announced several years ago that it would no longer compel panel banks to provide LIBOR quotes after December 31, 2021. The FCA also stated in March of this year that firms must assume that LIBOR will no longer be published after the end of 2021.

In the midst of a flurry of renewed and invigorated commitments to offshore wind by the UK Government, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has launched a consultation on one of the key components of the sector – the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) tender process regime. Under the regime, Ofgem runs a competitive…

On 1 June 2020, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the devolved administrations published a response to their May \ 2019 consultation on options for carbon pricing in the UK post-Brexit: Please see full Publication below for more information.

Wednesday the UK government introduced the National Security and Investment Bill (the "Bill") to Parliament. The Bill strengthens the government’s power to scrutinise, impose conditions and block foreign investments into specified sectors which may harm the UK's national security.

The Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) has recently updated its Operational Handbook to include a chapter on DPAs (the "Updated Handbook"). For companies under investigation, the question of whether or not to cooperate with the SFO in the hope of obtaining a DPA has long been a difficult one.

Introduction - The economic impact of COVID-19 will be far reaching. Governments around the globe are currently grappling with a balance between the protection of the health of their populations and limiting damage to their economies.  

The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted and will disrupt collections for existing European non-performing loan ("NPL") portfolios and has put many planned transactions on ice. Banks have been prioritising COVID-19-related forbearance measures and largely putting deleveraging on hold ahead of better market conditions.

Highlighting key tax points coming out of the recent economic update (8 July) delivered by the UK Government: Temporary reduction in stamp duty land tax (“SDLT”) on residential property purchases in England and Northern Ireland. From 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021, for residential property purchases the threshold at which SDLT is payable has increased from £125,000 (or £300,000 for first time...

In a judgment dated 2 April 2020, which only recently became available, a Commercial Court judge took the exceptional step of sentencing four absent respondents to prison for contempt of court (Dell Emerging Markets (EMEA) Ltd and others v Systems Equipment Telecommunications Services SAL and others [2020] EWHC 1384 (Comm)).

Businesses around the world have been substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to be managing the effects and remaining uncertainties for some time. In this context, we expect to see a shift in risk allocation in the European private M&A market to deal protection mechanisms more synonymous with a buyer’s market and specific provision for COVID-19, such as tailored warranties

As has been extensively publicised in the past few months, a number of credit support initiatives have been introduced by the UK government with the aim of helping businesses (both small and large) navigate the turbulence caused by COVID-19.

#TeamOrrick thanks the nearly 200 people who attended our webinar on Wednesday morning on the #FutureFund convertible loan notes. We tried to answer all of your questions, but they kept on coming, so here is the promised FAQ based upon the most common questions asked by attendees and others that we have received since.

Continuing with our series of looking at how the energy sector is being impacted by, and managing, the on-going effects of COVID-19 and the UK lockdown, we review the key updates from the last two weeks.

A recent judgment of the English High Court provides helpful guidance on the courts' approach to managing cases in response to the practical difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Muncipio de Mariana and others v BHP Group plc [2020] EWHC 928 (TCC)).

It has been reported that the UK Treasury is considering a new bailout mechanism for privately held companies in sectors seen as making "a material contribution" to the UK economy, which would take the form of one or more securitisation transactions partly backed by the UK government or sold to the Bank of England (BoE).

On 8 April 2020, the High Court dismissed three unexplained wealth orders ("UWOs") and related interim freezing orders made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (National Crime Agency v Baker & Ors [2020] EWHC 822 (Admin)).

Further to the Chancellor's announcement on 3 April 2020 (which we covered in COVID-19 UK: Finance - Mind the Gap - Insight and COVID-19 UK: UPDATE: Finance - Mind the Gap - Insight), the U.K. Government officially launched the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (“CLBILS”) on 20 April 2020.

Remote trials - In Re Blackfriars Ltd, the High Court rejected arguments that the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 crisis were sufficient reason to adjourn a five-week trial. The trial, which is scheduled to begin in June 2020, is expected to involve four live witnesses of fact and thirteen expert witnesses.

As we draw an end to the first month of the UK lockdown, we have seen committed efforts by the government and regulatory bodies towards addressing the ongoing effects of COVID-19 in a pragmatic and supportive manner.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has now published version 3 of the Site Operating Procedures (SOPs), aimed at protecting the construction workforce during COVID-19.

Further to our update dated 27 March 2020, new emergency changes to the Civil Procedure Rules will give parties more freedom to agree extensions to litigation time limits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like most organisations, the European Commission (the "Commission") and national competition authorities ("NCAs") have implemented remote working for the vast majority of their workforces. This presents unique and unprecedented challenges in merger control, one of the regulatory areas with the tightest deadlines, with little room for delays.

HM Treasury and the Bank of England very recently announced two schemes designed to deal with the financing and liquidity issues that UK companies are facing as a result of the Coronavirus.

We expect national and international privacy regulators to take a pragmatic and reasonable approach to helping organisations navigate data protection compliance during the current COVID-19 crisis. This week, both the European Data Protection Supervisor (the "EDPS") and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (the "ICO") have shown that expected pragmatism.

Dividend Timetable Revisions - On 25 March 2020, the LSE published Market Notice N07/20 which provides issuers with guidance in relation to payment dates under the 2020 Dividend Procedure timetable. This was in response to market conditions and enquiries from issuers and their advisers regarding deferral or cancellation of their dividend payments due to COVID-19.

We are sadly amid one of the most extraordinary times any of us can remember. The prevailing hope and expectation is that the current extraordinary times and related disruption is temporary. The rise in “cov-lite” and “cov-loose” financings in the European market also, hopefully, means that, in many cases, borrowers will have more breathing space than in previous downturns. That said, financing-r