On 14 March 2025, the FCA published a new market bulletin No. 54 which focuses on reminding the market about the UK Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR) regime and the serious repercussions of contravening that regime in the context of companies publicly listed on London Stock Exchange.

Over the past few years, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations have gained significant importance in the business sector. Despite the perception that ESG compliance might be an added challenge during contract discussions, it is, in fact, a fundamental element of contemporary legal practice. 

In an increasingly competitive and global environment, employers are often finding it difficult to fill vacancies that may require particular skills, qualification and/or proven expertise. The Labour Government intends to change that by upskilling the domestic labour force. 

In Kingdom of Spain v London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Limited (The M/T Prestige) [2024] EWCA Civ 1536, the English Court of Appeal held that an English arbitral award trumped a Spanish judgment. 

In January 2025, 828 UK premises were raided by Immigration Enforcement, the highest total raids recorded in January for more than half a decade. Illegal working raids are also up by 38% since Labour came to power compared to the same period 12 months ago, all according to the Home Office’s own reports.

The Arbitration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 24 February 2025 and will inform, in many respects, how arbitrations seated in England & Wales are conducted. The UK Government says that the new provisions introduced by the 2025 Act will keep the UK at the forefront as an arbitration centre and should provide a boost to the UK economy generally.

Last year the Code Committee (the “Committee”) of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (the “Panel”) published a consultation proposing amendments to the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the “Code”).

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published on 15 November 2024 its Primary Market Bulletin No. 52 (Bulletin 52). This bulletin provides helpful guidance in relation to applying the UK Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR) in certain situations.

It is often assumed that the tax-free compensation of up to £30,000 for ‘loss of office’, available under s403 (1) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (‘ITEPA’) is an automatic right; however the recent decision of the First Tier Tribunal in Simrajsar Ltd v HMRC [2024] has reminded us that this is not the case.

On 7th August of last year we discussed the upcoming changes to the VAT position for Independent Schools. Now we are in the New Year, what can we say about the implementation of these changes?

The Autumn 2024 budget (“the Budget”) was publicly announced on 30 October 2024 and whilst it has brought some significant changes, there are many policies that remain the same and some anticipated reforms which were overlooked.

Guarantees, warranties and indemnities are a means of allocating risk in commercial transactions and are often seen together (usually in a lease or security documents), but all carry very different obligations.

Laytons ETL’s Equity Capital Markets team advised AIM-quoted Tungsten West Plc, the mining company focused on restarting production at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon U.K., on a fundraising by way of adding an additional tranche G to its existing 2023 Convertible Loan Notes (CLN).

Join us for a seminar on Tuesday 4 March 2025, where Sharon Zachariah and Jeremy Lederman discuss common uses for AI in business and discuss the legal risks that may arise, using practical examples.

Our Private Capital team are proud to have advised NDSL Group Limited, the manufacturers of Cellwatch battery monitoring and management solutions for data centres, utilities and telecom markets, on its recent sale to RLE Technologies, a portfolio company of May River Capital, a Chicago based private equity firm.

Sign up for our upcoming Employment Law Seminar where Employment team members Nicholas Lakeland, Victoria Brockley, Marianne Johnson and James McConkey discuss key employment law developments for 2025 and their impact on workplace practices and compliance.

B Corp certification is a growing initiative that holds businesses to high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. In this article, we delve into the certification process and the legal requirements to being a B Corp company. 

Capital markets across the world have become increasingly globalised with listed companies often looking to seek a ‘dual listing’ to maximise opportunities for growth, investment and opening up the company to international investor exposure.

Whilst the joyful festivities of the ‘Christmas party season’ offer employees an opportunity to ‘let their hair down’, enjoy socialising and lift team morale; employers must navigate the yuletide period with caution, ensuring that ‘harmless banter’ does not encroach on inappropriate behaviour or worse, sexual harassment.  

Laytons ETL’s Equity Capital Markets team advised AIM-quoted Empyrean Energy Plc (the Company), the oil and gas development company with interests in Indonesia and the United States, on their recent share capital re-organisation in connection with a fundraising (the “Transaction”).