Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The High Court considered whether holders of convertible loan notes retained creditor standing for the purposes of an administration application where the notes had purportedly converted into equity on maturity. Insolvency and Companies Court (ICC) Judge Burton held that the applicable threshold was whether there was a ’serious issue to be tried’, consistent with the established ’good arguable case’ test in administration proceedings. Construing the notes commercially, the court found that ‘payment‘ included payment in kind through the issue of shares, such that failure to issue shares constituted an event of default leaving the underlying debt outstanding. The decision provides important guidance on creditor standing, contractual interpretation in financing arrangements, and the flexible meaning of ’payment’ in modern commercial transactions. Produced in partnership with Alex Akin, solicitor at Keidan Harrison.

Sport has undeniably become a major industry in its own right. However, as a matter of English law there are no standalone proprietary rights in a sport or sporting event: a sports organisation cannot claim an absolute legal right to claim all the commercial revenues derived from an event purely by virtue of the fact it organises that event. The same can be said for the individual rights which one usually associates with the ‘commercialisation’ of a sport; for example, there are no standalone sporting media rights, sponsorship rights or image rights. This Practice Note provides an overview of the legal and contractual rights that a sports organisation can rely on, and the practical steps that it can take to create valuable proprietary rights in the sporting properties that it owns or stages, and to commercialise those rights effectively. Operation and control of venues For many sports organisations, the venue at which an event is staged not only serves as the ‘home’ of a team and focal point for their fans, but also serves

Communication to the public The restricted act of communication to the public is relevant to this Q&A. The communication to the public of a work is an act restricted by the copyright in a literary, dramatic musical or artistic work, sound recording or film, or a broadcast (section 20 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988). Practice Note: Copyright infringement and in particular the subsection: Restricted act ‘communicating to the public’ contains a detailed examination of this restricted act. We draw your attention to the Reha training case and the Verwertungsgesellschaft case paragraphs. In Reha training, the Court of Justice clarified the relevant criteria to be used in assessing whether there has been a communication to the public. In the Verwertungsgesellschaft

What is the community right to bid? The community right to bid was introduced by sections 87–108 of the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) to enable local community groups to nominate buildings or land for listing by the local authority as assets of community value. When buildings or land listed as assets of community value come up for sale or change ownership, a moratorium on the sale of up to six months can be invoked, providing local community groups with an opportunity to bid to buy the asset on the open market. Importantly, there is no right for the community to buy the asset; nor is there a right of first refusal on a sale. Instead, the community is simply entitled to bid for the asset (and is given time, during the moratorium, to prepare a proposal for the asset). The owner of the asset can chose freely who to sell the asset to and for how much. Although the provisions in LA 2011 relating to the community

What is the community right to bid? The community right to bid was introduced by sections 87–108 of the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) to enable local community groups to nominate buildings or land for listing by the local authority as assets of community value. When buildings or land listed as assets of community value come up for sale or change ownership, a moratorium on the sale of up to six months can be invoked, providing local community groups with an opportunity to bid to buy the asset on the open market. Importantly, there is no right for the community to buy the asset; nor is there a right of first refusal on a sale. Instead, the community is simply entitled to bid for the asset (and is given time, during the moratorium, to prepare a proposal for the asset). The owner of the asset can choose freely who to sell the asset to and for how much. Although the provisions in LA 2011 relating to the community right to bid were

What is the community right to bid? The community right to bid was introduced by sections 87–108 of the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) to enable local community groups to nominate buildings or land for listing by the local authority as assets of community value. When buildings or land listed as assets of community value come up for sale or change ownership, a moratorium on the sale of up to six months can be invoked, providing local community groups with an opportunity to bid to buy the asset on the open market. Importantly, there is no right for the community to buy the asset; nor is there a right of first refusal on a sale. Instead, the community is simply entitled to bid for the asset (and is given time, during the moratorium period, to prepare a proposal for the asset). The owner of the asset can choose freely who to sell the asset to and for how much. Although

What is the community right to bid? The community right to bid was introduced by sections 87–108 of the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) to enable local community groups to nominate buildings or land for listing by the local authority as assets of community value. When buildings or land listed as assets of community value come up for sale or change ownership, a moratorium on the sale of up to six months can be invoked, providing local community groups with an opportunity to bid to buy the asset on the open market. Importantly, there is no right for the community to buy the asset; nor is there a right of first refusal on a sale. Instead, the community is simply entitled to bid for the asset (and is given time, during the moratorium, to prepare a proposal for the asset). The owner of the asset can choose freely who to sell the asset to and for

This Practice Note considers the amended 2012 Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme which came into force on 13 June 2019. It explains the tariff system used to value injuries, loss of earnings, claims for the cost of care, fatal accident claims and the maximum award. See also Practice Note: Claims for compensation to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.  The tariff system—the injury award There is a set tariff of awards for the victim of a criminal injury, ranging from £1,000 to £250,000. The tariff covers all types of injury including physical injuries, psychological injuries, child loss, sexual abuse or assault and the infection of life-threatening diseases. Annex E (Part A) deals with physical and mental health injury and Part B covers sexual and physical abuse and other payments. Compensation is fixed by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) on this tariff-based scheme. It is based on medical evidence. The onus is on the applicant to supply that evidence although the CICA has discretion to commission specific medical evidence. Where an applicant has

The complaint-handling procedures of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) are published as part of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Handbook, under Dispute Resolution: Complaints, usually known as the ‘DISP’ rules, in particular DISP 3. The DISP rules outline the procedures and requirements that businesses must follow when handling complaints, as well as the jurisdiction and procedures of the FOS. As well as the DISP rules, complaints by consumers to the FOS also fall under the remit of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive 2013/11/EU (the ADR Directive), with which the UK commenced compliance from 9 July 2015 following implementation of the directive through the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 and the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Amendment) Regulations 2015. See FOS compliance with the ADR Directive below. This Practice Note explains the procedures that the FOS must follow, and the powers it has, when dealing with complaints. It does not include information on the awards the FOS can make, which is provided in Practice

The completion of a lease can be delayed for many reasons. These can include financing, a delay in obtaining vacant possession, or ongoing negotiations regarding collateral matters. The lease, being a contract, does not come into force until it is completed, which is when the parties’ legal obligations to each other are finalised. This can mean, if there has been a significant delay, that terms in the lease

Law360: As we ring in the year 2025, the landscape of corporate ethics and compliance is rapidly evolving, driven by societal changes, technological advancements, and increasingly complex governance demands and geopolitical realities. The world is simultaneously more interconnected and more conflicted than ever, and ethics and compliance challenges can occur in ways and places we have not previously encountered. This article explores the outlook for corporate ethics and compliance in 2025, highlighting key trends, emerging challenges and imperatives for businesses.

The concept of a ‘permanent establishment’ (PE) is set out in Article 5 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model tax convention (OECD MTC). A similar, but broader, concept is included in Article 5 of the UN model tax convention (UN MTC). Broadly, an enterprise resident in one state (the home state) will have a PE in another state (the host state) if it has: • a fixed place of business in the host state • a dependent agent in the host state acting on its behalf, and • in the case of the UN MTC only, employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise in furnishing services within the host state for a period (or periods) totalling six months in any 12-month period. This is known as a services PE Under Article 7 (Business Profits) of the OECD MTC, the host state can only tax the business profits of the enterprise if they are attributable to a PE in the host state. Article