Introduction Following the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 30 January of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to the coronavirus crisis (please see our last briefing here), the vi...

On 4 March 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) fined four pharmaceutical companies for breaching competition law through market sharing and the exchange of competitively sensitive information relating to the supply of nor...

On 11 March 2020 the European Commission (Commission) launched a public consultation on  possible reforms to the Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP) Regulation (EU Regulation No. 978/2012 of 25 October 2012) (GSP Regulation). As the GSP Regu...

Border Closure Update In an attempt to stem the virus outbreak in Europe, a number of European Union (EU) and Schengen zone Member States exercised their right to temporarily re-introduced border controls between themselves and other Member States. ...

Join us in a series of podcasts, where we address the key issues impacting the global Competition landscape as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Episode 1: Competition and Cooperation during Covid-19 This podcast is a panel style discussion mode...

Introducing Hong Kong’s four-step fining framework… On 29 April 2020, Justice Godfrey Lam, President of the Competition Tribunal, handed down judgment in relation to the fines to be imposed on the parties in the W. Hing and Others case....

  On 30 April 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) released a statement on consumer protection law in relation to cancellations and refund complaints. The coronavirus outbreak has seen a significant increase in consum...

Introduction The coronavirus has forced antitrust authorities both at EU and national level to adopt an exceptional approach on competition rules. At an EU level, on 8 April the European Commission approved specific guidance to guide companies in t...

In two recent judgments, both rendered on 16 October 2015 (which can be found here and here) the Supreme Court ruled on the sustainability of a legal construct often used by banks called the equity surplus-arrangement. A variant of the...

Generally speaking, where a contract sets down requirements for the service of notices under it, parties should comply with these strictly. A notice that fails to comply will be invalid. This has been established in a number of cases including the...

  Pursuant to Article 3:246 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code (DCC) pledgees have the power to enforce their right of pledge on receivables by claiming (direct) payment of the receivable. This power also includes the right to enforce rights o...

On 3 June 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that a valid right of pledge can be established on goods that are delivered subject to retention of title (of ownership). If the buyer is declared bankrupt, the conditional ownership can become an uncondition...

We are pleased to present to you our brochure which reviews the changes in the Polish law that we believe will have a major impact on business in Poland in 2017.

The case of So Sau Lai Connie v DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd [2017] HKEC 29 is a typical letter of credit fraud case. This case illustrates whether certain “red flags” may constitute discrepant presentation or a fraud indication. Background ...

Introduction Financial services firms’ corporate governance and risk cultures is a ‘hot’ topic with financial regulators globally. Regulators have noted that serious corporate governance and conduct failings of financial services f...

Digital currency has been arousing a lot of interest for some time. In public administration circles - at least officially – so far, it has not been discussed very much. A few days ago though, the situation has changed. The National Bank of Po...

On 28 July 2017 the Legislative Decree transposing Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments (MiFID II) and Regulation (EU) 600/2014 (MiFIR) in Italy (the “Decree”) has been finally approved.The Decree amends and integrate...

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The position of banks being served with a Mareva injunction order has been clarified in Hong Kong. In the recent case of Grasberg Capital Asia Limited v Bank of Communications Limited (HCA 2016/784)*, the Court considered the question of whether a b...

On 25 October 2017, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) published the Whitepaper 2.0 (“Whitepaper 2.0”) on Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT”). This Whitepaper 2.0 provides practical advice on over 20 gove...

Companies trade in an increasingly global market. Despite this, the process of taking security in support of financial obligations remains essentially a question of the national law in the country where the assets over which security is granted are ...

Companies trade in an increasingly global market. Despite this, the process of taking security in support of financial obligations remains essentially a question of the national law in the country where the assets over which security is granted are ...

Key points: • In a judgment supportive of the rescue culture in English insolvency, the court has reaffirmed its flexible approach to the application of insolvency provisions and willingness to look at the practical effect of transactions in re...

The idea of shifting transactions into the digital space dates back to the beginnings of computer science. The development of blockchain technology has uncovered new possibilities for regulating contractual relationships. Parties to a contract now ...

A recent High Court judgment provides a reminder of the rules governing the priority of security interests in an insolvency scenario, and also illustrates some of the potential pitfalls of purchasing apartments off-plan (Williams & Anor v Broado...

Overview The Securitisation Regulation (Regulation) comes into force on 1 January 2019, establishes a general framework for securitisation and creates a specific framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation. The Regulation is a ...

Legal background Often, under a contract, one party will have a right to exercise discretion - the contract will give the party the right to take a decision that affects the rights of both parties. In real estate finance an obvious example of this i...

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Key Points A disposition by a receiver, whether appointed by the court or under a fixed charge, is not a disposition by a mortgagor for the purposes of s284 Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA”). The wider implications of the decision may be to lim...

  The Singapore office of global legal practice Eversheds Sutherland today announced the appointment of Gerard Ng as a partner in the Banking and Financial Services Practice group. With over 20 years of experience, Gerard is a specialist in len...

Key Points • The self-dealing rule does not extend to a sale by a receiver to a party in which the mortgagee has an interest. • Although the duties of a receiver and a mortgagee are similar as to the Property, a receiver, unlike a mortgage...

New LIBOR transition publications On 16 January 2020, the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority and Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates published a set of documents outlining priorities and milestones for sterling LIBOR transi...

Changes to the insolvency, civil and criminal procedural law The German Federal Government is currently planning various support measures for entrepreneurs, sole traders, other small, medium and large companies and credit institutions to mitigate t...

State recapitalisation aid to companies in the Covid 19 crisis 1. Overview | within a very short time, the German legislator passed a law to establish an Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) | the aim is to stabilize the companies in the real economy a...

Coronavirus and the related restrictive measures directly affect not only insolvency proceedings that are already in progress, but can also cause or accelerate financial problems that will lead to bankruptcy and subsequent beginning of insolvency pr...

Hong Kong banks have been asked to provide small and mid-sized businesses with a 6 month repayment holiday. Who is eligible and what will the relief cover? COVID-19 is affecting valuations, disrupting cash-flows and causing financial distress for ma...

On 20th April, the UK Government announced a £500m “Future Fund”, as part of its package of measures to support businesses in response to the coronavirus.  What is the Future Fund? The Future Fund is being set up with the aim ...

In Re Saint Benedict's Land Trust ...

In light of the recent market events, the trading prices of many loans have fallen dramatically. As a result, companies (or their private equity sponsors) may consider utilising the debt buy-back mechanics in their credit agreements. A debt buy-back...

Whilst the UAE Government has launched economic stimulus packages to minimize the disruption, the financial and social cost of the virus will be felt for many months, if not years, to come. In light of this severe economic disruption, companies of a...

On 7 February 2020 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) launched a review into the IVF sector. The review stems from concerns that IVF clinics may not be compliant with UK consumer law on the basis that they are not aware of the...

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Executive summary On 8 April 2020, the European Commission issued a Temporary Framework Communication enabling it to: issue “comfort letters” in respect of specific temporary competitor co-ordination projects; and explain the criteria it...

Implications of Covid-19 on the conduct of clinical trials The current Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on European healthcare systems, such as limited or no patient contact; restricted site access; shortage of investigational medicinal products; t...

Eversheds Sutherland has helped to secure Electricity Act 1989 consent from the Scottish Ministers and deemed planning permission for Limekiln Wind Farm, a 21 turbine wind farm with an estimated generation capacity of 64MW based in the Highlands. Th...

Advising on an innovative first in the renewables heat sector Eversheds Sutherland has advised Oasthouse Ventures on the development of the world’s first sustainable, low-carbon greenhouse projects. The Clean Energy and Sustainability team fro...

Eversheds Sutherland’s Africa Group has recently announced a number of new leadership roles for John Kemkers (Head of the Africa Group), Wesley Pydiamah (Deputy Head of the Africa Group) and Farès Koussay El Heni (Deputy Head of the Afr...

Background The Procuring Authority has engaged the International Finance Corporation, acting through its Public Private Partnerships Transaction Advisory Services division, to act as lead transaction advisor in relation to the Project. The RFQ will ...

The European Commission (“EC”) has now completed its in-depth investigation of Britain’s capacity market scheme (“CM scheme”), which was introduced in 2014 following EU state aid approval to help safeguard security of e...

The Energy & Infrastructure team is delighted to launch its third edition of the Renewable Energy is Looking Good in Latin America brochure. Latin American countries represent 4 of the top 20 most attractive renewable energy markets in the world...