A deed poll is another term for a deed of declaration, and works like a contract rather than a trust.

This Agreement is made on [insert day and month] 20[insert year] Parties 1 [insert selling corporate entity] incorporated in England and Wales under number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Seller), [and] 2 [insert name of purchasing corporate entity] incorporated in England and Wales under number [insert company number] whose registered office is at [insert address] (the Bidder), [and] the Seller and the Bidder being a Party and together the Seller and the Bidder are the Parties. background (A) The Parties propose to enter into negotiations concerning the Proposed Acquisition. (B) In order to explore, discuss, evaluate and negotiate the Proposed Acquisition, the Bidder has requested that certain Confidential Information [(and Personal Data) ]be made available to it in order to evaluate the Business and to consider and negotiate the terms of the Proposed Acquisition. (C) The Parties have agreed to enter into this Agreement in consideration of the Seller disclosing and the Bidder receiving the Confidential Information. The parties agree: 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 In this Agreement, unless otherwise provided: Authorised Person • means any employee, director, consultant, agent, representative or adviser of the Bidder that

1 Definitions Contamination • means the presence of any Hazardous Substances in the soil and water at or under the Property and/or the migration of Hazardous Substances to or from the Property Environment • means all or any of the following: namely air, water (including surface water, groundwater and water in drains and sewers) and land (including sub-surface land and land under water) and any living organisms (including humans) or ecosystems supported by those media Environmental Law • means all applicable laws (whether statutory or common law and whether civil, criminal or administrative), directives, regulations,

This week's edition of Energy weekly highlights includes: a News Analysis assessing emerging themes for the offshore wind sector in 2024 and the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)’s consultation on proposed contract changes to the sixth allocation round of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) Low Carbon Electricity Generation scheme. This week’s highlights also include Ofgem’s consultation to inform the ten-year review of the Capacity Market Rules, DESNZ’s £300m investment to support domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and DESNZ’s new plans to create a competitive carbon capture market.

Construction analysis: The Outer House of the Court of Session (CSOH) rejected an argument raised by an employer under a building contract that an adjudicator’s decision was unenforceable, because the adjudicator had failed to address a line of defence raised by the employer in the adjudication—namely, that a payment notice provided by the contractor did not attach an appendix setting out how the sums demanded had been calculated. On a thorough examination of the adjudicator’s decision, it was clear that the adjudicator had considered this issue, and had found that the appendix was validly included in the payment notice.

This week's edition of Commercial weekly highlights includes: the Court of Appeal’s decision in EE Ltd v Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd which considers whether a claim for anticipated profits was validly excluded by the contract, analysis of the Information Commissioner's Office's new obligation to report annually on its enforcement under an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, and news that the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice have launched a consultation on the proposed removal of the rules and guidance related to energy labelling and product fiche information from the advertising codes.

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) has published guidance on the application and management of artificial intelligence applicable to all eight of its standard contract forms including the Red Book, Yellow and Blue Books. The guidance warns of the serious risks associated with the unchecked use of AI-generated information, which could lead to safety hazards, performance failures, breaches of confidentiality and potential legal liabilities. It highlights the importance of independently verifying AI outputs, especially in critical areas such as health, safety, environmental compliance and legal obligations.

The EU Data Act started to apply on 12 September 2025, establishing new rules for data generated by connected devices. Under the Act, manufacturers are required to enable data sharing, while users receive enhanced rights to access device-generated data. The legislation also facilitates the switching of cloud service providers. To support implementation, the Commission will set up a dedicated legal helpdesk and issue guidance that includes model terms for data-sharing contract sand standard clauses for cloud contracts, along with clarifications on trade secret protections. Additionally, a broader Data Union Strategy is planned to simplify and enhance the EU's data framework.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced the launch of the procurement process for the pilot Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) issuance, leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT). HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office have published additional information, engagement questions, and issued a preliminary market engagement notice through the contract finder service. This initiative aims to gather industry views to inform the development and delivery of the DIGIT pilot. The pilot aims to explore the application of DLT to UK sovereign debt issuance and catalyse the development of UK-based DLT infrastructure. Responses to the preliminary market engagement notice are sought by 13 April 2025.

This week's edition of Commercial weekly highlights includes: the Commercial Court's decision in Birch v Brookfield which considered implied terms of good faith and rationality in the context of a contract with an unincorporated association, news that the Competition and Markets Authority has published its annual plan for 2025–26 which outlines how it will use its new powers to enhance consumer confidence, and the announcement by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice of updates to section 14 of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.

A payment in lieu of notice (PILON) made pursuant to a term in the contract of employment constitutes contractual remuneration for the purpose of paragraph 3(2)(a) of Schedule 13 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (SSCBA 1992) and therefore has to be set off against the employer’s liability to pay statutory maternity pay (SMP). The position in respect of a non-contractual PILON payment is less clear and will have to be determined in a future case. First-tier Tribunal Tax Chamber: Ladiverova v (1) HMRC (2) Chokdee.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a report on Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), produced under contract by Jacobs UK Ltd for the Environment Agency between 2019 and 2024. This report was published in response to a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, SI 2004/3391. It details the extent of the PFAS contamination problem across England, presenting the methodology and findings from developing a model for estimating the costs of remediating high-risk contaminated sites, and highlights the financial scale of managing these contaminated sites.