White & Case LLP (JD Supra United Kingdom)

1. What is short selling and why is it controversial? Short selling is the practice of betting that a listed company's share price will drop. This is typically effected by the person who is placing the bet (usually a hedge fund) borrowing shares which it then sells and subsequently buys back at a lower price in the future. The hedge fund will then return the shares that it borrowed to the...

On 26 April 2021, the UK government brought into force a new sanctions regime, designed to target individuals involved in serious corruption and prevent them from entering the UK or using the UK financial system. To date, 22 individuals have been designated. The new regime marks the latest development in the UK's post-Brexit shift to a 'mid-Atlantic' sanctions strategy, with the focus of...

In January 2018, UK law enforcement agencies were granted new powers to pursue the forfeiture of assets. Unexplained wealth orders ("UWOs") initially grabbed the media's attention, but the relative ease with which UK law enforcement can seek and obtain an account freezing order ("AFrO") or an account forfeiture order ("AFO") means that they are used more often than UWOs in practice. This article...

In the last few years, and very much following in the footsteps of the US, the UK's life sciences sector has grown exponentially. This growth has been accelerated by Governmental support for the scientific community in the wake of Brexit, as well as the increased spotlight on life sciences and pharma following the COVID-19 pandemic. From a real estate perspective, recent research from Jones Lang...

The FCA has today published a consultation paper proposing changes to the Listing Rules applicable to Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicles (SPACs). The FCA's main proposal is to remove the existing presumption in the Listing Rules that the listing of a SPAC will be suspended when it identifies a potential acquisition target.

In its recent decision in (1) Hulley Enterprises Limited, (2) Yukos Universal Limited, (3) Veteran Petroleum Limited v The Russian Federation,1 the High Court concluded that where a party has challenged the jurisdiction of the court under the State Immunity Act 1978 ("the SIA"), the English courts do not have the power under s103(5) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the "Arbitration Act") to order an...

On 14 April 2021, the European Data Protection Board ("EDPB") announced that it had adopted two Opinions on the draft UK adequacy decisions issued by the European Commission on 19 February 2021. The EDPB’s take on the draft adequacy decisions is broadly positive, and will come as welcome news to UK and EEA businesses with cross-border data flows.

In the UK, disputes in the construction industry are rarely resolved through conciliation, with parties preferring recourse to adjudication, mediation, litigation or arbitration. However, a recent Australian case highlights that in other jurisdictions, the idea of conciliation is more prevalent. What is Conciliation? Conciliation is a form of dispute resolution similar to mediation in which

On March 25, 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited ("MEHL") and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited ("MEC"), Burma's two largest military conglomerates. On the same day, the United Kingdom announced sanctions on MEHL. On April 8, the United States imposed sanctions on Myanma Gems Enterprise ("MGE"), a Burmese state-owned entity responsible...

Variation powers under construction contracts typically contemplate work being authorised as a variation where it is instructed in writing. This can give rise to disputes over whether work is a "variation" if it is instructed orally. A recent Singapore case involved such an issue. In Vim Engineering Pte Ltd v Deluge Fire Protection (SEA) Pte Ltd [2021] SGHC 63, the High Court of Singapore...

28 June 2021 is the deadline for UK Financial Holding Companies ("FHC") and Mixed Financial Holding Companies ("MFHC") to submit their application for approval or exemption under the UK's implementation of the Capital Requirements Directive V ("CRD V"). Member States were required to have implemented CRD V into national law by 28 December 2020. As this deadline expired before the end of the UK's 1

A year since the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, or the 'furlough scheme' as it is more commonly known, the extent of fraud associated with the government assistance programme has started to become clear. Added to this, and increasing the pressure on the Government to act on furlough fraud where appropriate, the media has begun to scrutinise published lists of those that...

Recent statements by LIBOR authorities in the UK have implications for benchmark fallbacks in US documents. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and ICE Benchmark Administration ("IBA") released statements1 on March 5, 2021 announcing that LIBOR will cease to be published on a representative basis on...

It has now been a year since the UK exited the EU and a matter of months since the transition period came to an end. For the most part, there have not been major changes to environmental regulation in the UK. Instead, the UK has made small tweaks to its rules so that they make sense in the post-Brexit reality. Such tweaks may appear minor, but they can have major consequences for business. On top

The Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA) recently issued a guidance note on "2021 general meetings and the impact of COVID-19", written with input from Martin Moore QC and the support of the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). This important Guidance is wide ranging and is designed to assist companies after the flexibilities of...

In response to an unprecedented year of pandemic and economic crisis, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered a Budget to offer continued support to the economy and an early view of what he believes the post-pandemic and post-Brexit economy will look like for the UK. Unsurprisingly, fast growth companies will play a key role.

In November 2020, the UK published a draft of its new National Security and Investment Bill ("NSIB"), heralding the introduction of a new regime for reviewing investments on national security grounds. The Bill introduced a mandatory pre-screening mechanism for certain deals involving investments in sensitive sectors. The draft was accompanied by proposed definitions for the seventeen "sensitive...

Lord Hill today published his recommendations following the UK Listings Review Call for Evidence in November 2020. The recommendations cover the Listing Rules applicable to Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), which were not the subject of a specific question in the Call for Evidence. In particular, the report recommends the removal of the presumption that trading in a SPAC's shares...

On 26 February 2021, the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech published its much anticipated report on the state of the UK fintech industry. The report recognizes fintech's current importance to the UK economy and potential material opportunities in driving growth as part of Global Britain in a post-COVID environment, including potential investment reforms impacting Fintech investors and companies. 

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a wave of creditor schemes of arrangement ("schemes") and restructuring plans ("RPs") in the second half of 2020, which shows no sign of abating in 2021. For the uninitiated, the scheme (a long-established tool) and the newer RP process are court led UK restructuring options that a company can use to bind a minority of creditors into a...

Much has been made of the Supreme Court's decision earlier this month in KBR, Inc. v Director of the Serious Fraud Office, in which it confirmed the limits on UK authorities' reach overseas in anti-corruption investigations.  However, our view is that this should not be seen as a paradigm shift and in fact there have been other developments whilst this case has been running that are more...

The UK Supreme Court has issued the latest in a series of landmark decisions on parent company liability under English law for claims alleging environmental damage and human rights abuses. In a unanimous reversal of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court concluded that it was at least arguable, based on the degree of control and de facto management, that the parent company owed a duty of care to

Construction contracts may be priced in a number of ways. For most contracts, even those which are "fixed price", there is usually scope for cost/price variability. Four cases from December 2020 highlight some of the difficulties that can arise when parties agree that payment should be based on cost.

HEADLINES - In March 2020, credit insurer Euler Hermes forecast a 43% increase in insolvencies in the UK in 2021, as well as a 26% uptick in France and 12% in Germany. - By December 2020, ratings agency S&P was forecasting European defaults rising to as much as 8% by the end of 2021. There have been fewer European insolvencies and restructurings than anticipated during the COVID-19...

In a rare successful challenge to an arbitration award under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the Commercial Court remitted parts of an award for reconsideration by the tribunal.  The Court found that a computational error in the award - which had been admitted by the tribunal - amounted to a serious irregularity which caused or would cause substantial injustice to the applicant. ...

In its recent decision in R (on the application of Friends of the Earth Ltd and others) v Heathrow Airport Ltd, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal's decision that the planned expansion of Heathrow Airport was unlawful on climate change grounds, and determined that the UK Government had taken proper account of the UK's climate change commitments. Background - In June 2018, the...

In the case of (1) Secretariat Consulting Pte Ltd, (2) Secretariat International UK Ltd, (3) Secretariat Advisors LLC v A Company [2021] EWCA Civ 6, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Technology and Construction Court in A Company v (1) X, (2) Y, 3 (Z) [2020] EWHC 809 (TCC) on different grounds. The Court of Appeal found that although an expert may owe fiduciary duties, including a...

With the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of 24 December 2020 ("Agreement"), the UK and the EU have fundamentally changed market access for financial services firms. As of 1 January 2021, UK financial services firms intending to do business in the EU are no longer allowed to make use of the European Single Market and offer their services cross-border based on the European Passport. Therefore,

For the duration of the Brexit transition period, the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement provided for EU law to continue to apply to the UK. The transition period concluded on 31 December 2020 and, as widely anticipated, the UK and the EU did not agree any ongoing regime for cross-border cooperation on choice of law, courts and…For the duration of the Brexit transition period, the UK/EU Withdrawal...

In a positive development for multinational businesses, the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides a temporary solution to allow the continued transfer of personal data from the EEA to the UK without the need for additional compliance measures, while the European Commission considers an adequacy decision in respect of the UK. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisionally agreed...