On Tuesday 22 September 2020 Commercial Real Estate Senior Associate, Anthony Goodmaker attended the virtual Student Housing Conference 2020, together with Partner, Ronan Ledwidge. The overall message from the many speakers was one of positivity and optimism – Anthony highlights his 5 takeaways from the event.
Read moreDispute Resolution Senior Associate, Caroline Harbord discusses the implications of the emerging FinCEN scandal. What is most startling about the scandal is that over 2,000 suspicious activity reports (“SARs”) were filed by banks (this number is apparently only the tip of the iceberg) whilst the practices forming the subject matter of the SARS were still permitted to continue.
Read moreLast week, the High Court handed down its judgment in the much publicised COVID-19 business interruption insurance test case, which was brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on behalf of policyholders, the majority of which were small- and medium-sized enterprises. While the ruling has been hailed a success for policyholders, the extent to which insurers will have to pay out under such policies is still an unknown and the devil will certainly be in the detail.
Read moreThe Government has announced that the current legislation which prevent landlords from forfeiting commercial leases, or levying execution on the tenant's goods by way of CRAR to recover outstanding rent, will be extended from 30 September 2020 until 31 December 2020 to provide further protection for tenants who have not paid their rents or other sums due under their leases.
Read moreHow do you value a company that has seen its fortunes change significantly – for better or worse – as a result of the coronavirus crisis? Much has been written about this and it has even spawned the new (and at first widely disparaged) acronym “EBITDAC”, the C of course standing for coronavirus.
Read moreWe reported in June about changes to the residential possession procedure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last week the government implemented further changes and Property Litigation Associate, Sarah Heatley, takes a look at the current rules.
Read moreMany businesses are currently looking at their profitable (and not-so-profitable) parts and wondering which could be bundled up and sold. A precursor to any such sale may well be a preliminary intra-group reorganisation. Understanding the tax (and corporate law) aspects prior to making any decisions about a reorganisation is key.
Read moreThe Government has announced that it will introduce a temporary change in the law to allow wills to be witnessed using video technology during the coronavirus pandemic. It is set to come into force in September, but will apply retrospectively to wills executed from 31 January 2020. This article outlines the relevant law and the planned changes, along with some high-level guidance for those who may have to rely on the new rules in the absence of being able to execute a will in the normal way.
Read moreOn 17 July 2020, the Office of the Public Guardian (the "OPG") launched its online service "Use a lasting power of attorney". This service enables attorneys to prove their status to service providers, such as banks or health care providers, by providing them with online access to a summary of the relevant lasting power of attorney (LPA).
Read moreThe recent case of Re A&C Restoration LLP (Manolete Partners plc v Riches) [2020] EWHC 1404 (Ch) has reconfirmed that directors’ duties can be applied to designated members of LLPs, and also serves as a useful reminder of how these duties are altered in the event of insolvency.
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