Competition Law

The consequences of failing to comply with competition law are now very serious and businesses, no matter what their size cannot afford to be complacent about this area of the law.

Commercial trading practices are under increasing scrutiny and businesses need more care than ever before to ensure that their practices are not in breach of competition law. We can advise on compliance and strategies to reduce the risk for businesses trading in the UK and EU as well as the wider aspects of competition and anti-trust compliance.

Locked Box - Good-Bye or Just Au Revoir?

Introduction As a price structuring mechanism the “Locked-Box” has now been with us for a number of years having originated as a creation of the private equity industry in a significantly more buoyant M&A marketplace. The primary...

Accounting Warranties - When Ignorance Is Bliss

In an acquisition it is standard practice for a buyer to require warranties from the seller in respect of the audited and management accounts of the target. The case of Macquarie Internationale Investments Ltd v Glencore Uk Ltd concerned a claim by the buyer...

Mind the Gap - Earn-outs - Bridging or Creating the Divide?

Earn-outs – where part of the purchase price is conditional upon the future financial performance of the target - are enjoying something of a revival in M&A deal structuring. A combination of seller price expectations and continued tightening...

Tips for Business Borrowers

With the economy seeming to be slowly improving, businesses will be thinking about financing the expected expansion of trade. Borrowing cost often dominates the thinking, but it isn’t all about the cost of the loan. In order to negotiate the right...

Companies Act Model Articles - Think First

Since the Companies Act 2006 came into effect, the incorporation of a company has been straightforward as the Act provides an easy to use set of model articles of incorporation. However, before you rush off and buy an ‘off the shelf’...

Registering a Trade Mark

Your business has its own unique brand and reputation and it is vital in a competitive marketplace to ensure that these are protected from unscrupulous third parties. Some business owners do not believe there is any point in registering their trading or...

Termination of Leases - Tips for Landlords

In the present economic environment, many tenants will be seeking to vacate premises, reduce the size of their premises or renegotiate their leases, so times are tough for landlords. Furthermore, tenants who were ‘good tenants’ or who seemed...

The Duty to Manage Asbestos - HSE Guidance

According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Every year 1,000 people who have been involved in carrying out building maintenance and repair work die as a...

Understanding Options

People who want to buy a property but do not currently have the means to do so, or who simply want to be guaranteed the opportunity to buy it during a specified period or at some future date, will often undertake an option agreement with the owner. Under...

Companies Act 2006 Overview

The Companies Act 2006 became fully effective from October 1st 2009. Here are some useful sources of information on the Act. For more information and advice on your circumstances, contact us. Companies House Overview . Changes which came into...

Making Retention of Title Work

Prior to the recession, Retention of Title (RoT) clauses probably received less attention than they should have from many businesses. However, RoT is now back in the spotlight. An effective RoT clause will normally allow you to recover the goods you have...

Tax-advantaged Employee Incentives for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The Government has announced two important matters relating to Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). EMI are tax advantaged share options offered by small and medium sized companies to their employees. In a recent press release dated 20th August 2009 HMG...

Buying from an Administrator - Take Care

With businesses becoming insolvent in large numbers, opportunities abound to acquire assets from their administrators. However, the low prices sought for the assets are due, at least in part, to the additional risk to the purchaser. Here are some of the...

Disputes in the EU - Rules on Applicable Law

Where a dispute has a foreign element, one of the common problems is deciding under what jurisdiction legal action should be taken. This is avoided in many commercial contracts by specifying the applicable law in the contract, but in consumer contracts there...

Bribery Act Guidance

The Government provides guidance for businesses on complying with the Bribery Act 2010 , which came into force on 1 July 2011. The Act was originally scheduled to take effect in April 2011, but its implementation was delayed to allow the final version of...

Termination of Leases - Tips for Tenants

Break clauses in commercial leases have probably received more attention from tenants in the last year or so than at any time since the early 1990s. For tenants seeking to break their leases, here are some pointers: Make sure any notice to break the...

Landlords - Dealing With Pre-Pack Tenants

Businesses in financial difficulties are increasingly seeking ways of ridding themselves of extra costs and, in many cases, premises let in more promising economic times are viewed as a substantial and avoidable liability, especially for businesses which...

Dealing With Breach of Patent

When you discover that a business has breached your patent, what should you do? The answer to this question has two elements. The first is based on what you can do in law and the second is based on business strategy. Firstly, before picking a fight with...

Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes - Rules

If you are a landlord it is vital that you are aware of the requirement that all deposits taken by landlords and letting agents for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme. There are two...

Company Name Rules

You cannot incorporate a company using any name you like. Some names are prohibited (for example, those which suggest a connection with the Government or the Crown) and names will not be allowed if they are too similar to the names of existing companies. It...

Patent Searches Improved

Checking for existing patents in force is easy (and free) if you use the UK Intellectual Property Office's (UKIPO) patent databases which are accessible online. The new databases replace the Patents Journal and are designed to make obtaining information...

Considering Outsourcing

These days more and more processes are being outsourced (run by external contractors under a service agreement) by more and more businesses. It is particularly common to outsource IT functions and telephone call management. Outsourcing can offer many...

Age Discrimination - Life After the Abolition of the Default Retirement Age

The Default Retirement Age (DRA) has now been abolished and it is no longer permissible for an employer to dismiss an older worker on the ground of retirement unless this can be objectively justified under the Equality Act 2010 . This does not mean that...

Bank Deposit Protection Rules for Businesses

In December 2010, new limits were announced for the levels of protection available for different investments underwritten by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS protects the deposits of small companies, which are those which meet...

Company Disclosure Rules

The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 set out the the requirements as to where and when company trading names, names of directors etc. need to be shown. The Statutory Instrument implementing the changes is both short and straightforward. In...

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