This Checklist is for use when reviewing a registered title as part of the due diligence process. It assumes that the title is being reviewed in the context of a proposed purchase of the property but the same considerations will apply when carrying out due diligence in the context of taking a registered charge over the property or entering into a new lease of the property. For unregistered land, see Practice Notes: Deducing title to unregistered land—compulsory first registration, party to register, evidence of title, good root of title and unbroken chain of ownership and Deducing title to unregistered land—stamp duty, mortgages, execution of documents, missing title deeds, sales of part and other considerations. Have official copies of the register and plan been provided? Official copies—register and plan Title to registered land is deduced by providing up to date official copies of the register and plan. These must be ordered from HM Land Registry either by: • submitting a paper form • using their online portal or the Business Gateway, or • applying via an online search provider

On the acquisition of leasehold property, it is essential to check that: • the property has the benefit of all necessary rights to enable it to be accessed and used for the permitted use, and • the rights reserved over the property are acceptable and will not cause undue interference with the use and occupation of the property Any issues may have an adverse impact on the value and use of the property and/or the ability of the buyer to secure finance, let or dispose of the property. See also: Due diligence—easements—checklist. Rights granted What rights have been granted to the tenant? Check what rights have been granted to the tenant. These may be: • express rights granted to the tenant in the lease, and • existing easements which benefit the landlord’s title and will benefit the tenant’s title (unless expressly excluded by the terms of the lease) Are the rights granted sufficient for the tenant and the property? Check what rights have been granted to the tenant and consider whether

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) gives tenants of business tenancies security of tenure—a statutory right to stay on in their premises after the expiry of the contractual term of the lease and to call for the grant of a new lease. It is essential on any due diligence exercise to check whether a lease does or does not have security of tenure under LTA 1954 because the application or otherwise of LTA 1954 to a lease of business premises is fundamental to all commercial leases and will, among other things, have an impact on the value of the property, the ease of obtaining vacant possession and any future plans of the landlord for the property. See Practice Note: Contracting out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954—procedures, timing and pitfalls. Does LTA 1954 apply to the lease? A business tenant will have security of tenure under LTA 1954 if they are in occupation of premises for the purposes of their business unless: • the lease is actually a tenancy at will; check whether the tenancy is

This Practice Note provides an overview of the purpose, nature and scope of the due diligence process that is carried out by a potential buyer prior to the acquisition of shares in a private limited company or the acquisition of a business and its assets (the target). Purpose and initial considerations for the buyer Purpose of due diligence The starting point for a buyer in any share or asset purchase transaction is the maxim caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). Since the seller is under no duty to disclose to the buyer any defects in, and liabilities of, the target, the buyer will always need to conduct its own investigations. It will therefore instruct advisers to conduct due diligence (whether commercial, legal, tax, financial or otherwise) and prepare due diligence reports to highlight material issues arising from their review exercise. From the buyer’s perspective, the purpose of due diligence is risk management. With the information obtained about the target as a result of due diligence investigations, the buyer can: • make an informed decision as to whether to enter

The requirements for the execution of a valid will, set out in the Wills Act 1837, s 9.

Commercial analysis: Once a real property disposition to which a company is party has been registered, any insufficiency of execution for the company of the contract for the disposition ceases to be relevant. (Obiter), if it had been necessary to decide the point, the court would have held that an unwitnessed signature by a single director of the contract for the disposition was sufficient to satisfy the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (not following a dictum of Mr Justice Lewison in Redcard Ltd v Williams). Written by Nicholas Davidson QC at 4 New Square.

MLex: Companies subject to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due-Diligence Directive could face weaker obligations under the upcoming ‘omnibus’ regulation, set to be published on Wednesday. The draft proposal, seen by MLex, narrows supply chain checks, eases civil liability rules, and weakens climate transition plans. Changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive are more limited, primarily reducing its scope and delaying its entry into force.

MLex: Large EU companies have moved a step closer to being legally obliged to address the negative impacts of their business activities—including those within their supply chains—on the environment and on human rights, after a qualified majority of EU countries approved the Corporate Sustainability Due-Diligence Directive on 15 March 2024.

TMT analysis: The High Court has issued its ruling in an interim application made in the Duke of Sussex’s claim for libel against Associated Newspapers Ltd. The claim, which arose in the context of an article published in February 2022 in the Mail on Sunday and on MailOnline, can now continue to trial. It followed an earlier trial of preliminary issues in June 2022. Written by Helen Hart, senior practice development lawyer, Lewis Silkin LLP.

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on the calculation of dumping margins in anti-dumping investigations. The steps demonstrate how to calculate the export price and normal value, duly adjusted to compare both prices at the ex-factory level. The steps also demonstrate how to calculate the amount of dumping and the dumping margin. It further demonstrates how to calculate the overall dumping margin where numerous products are imported, some of which are dumped and some of which are not dumped. Introduction Article 2.1 of the World Trade Organization’s (‘WTO’) Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (‘Anti-dumping Agreement’) provides that a product is being dumped if its export price (the price it is sold for in the export market) is less than the normal value (the price it is sold for in its domestic or originating market). Schedule 4 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 echoes this definition. As such, there are three main components to calculating the dumping margin. Firstly, the export price needs to be

Information provided under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 must be in a durable medium.

The (Macaulay) duration is a measure of the average time until a bond's cash flows occur, and of the sensitivity of its price to interest rate changes.