In May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force. The GDPR represented a huge overhaul of data protection laws with its purpose being to provide individuals with greater levels of protection for their personal data. As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom was obliged to adopt the GDPR. However,… Read more »
In summer 2019, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a notice of intent to fine British Airways (BA) more than £183m for a breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The fine was calculated by reference to BA’s total global turnover and was an example of the ICO wielding the additional powers conferred on… Read more »
Recently, it was announced that the Autumn Budget would be cancelled as the government explained that they had taken the view that “now was not the right time to outline long-term plans given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic”. Prior to this, it had been expected that the Chancellor would announce changes to the rates of capital… Read more »
On 15th September 2020, the FCA announced that it had been largely successful in its legal challenge brought against a number of insurers and their decisions to refuse coverage to small businesses claiming for COVID-19 related losses under their business interruption (BI) policies. Business Insurance Test Case Verdict Within the test case, the court considered… Read more »
In April, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Companies House introduced temporary measures to its enforcement powers against companies that fail to comply with their statutory filing obligations. Those measures included: Pausing the strike of process to prevent companies from being dissolved; and Treating late filing penalty appeals sympathetically where the late delivery was… Read more »
Many experts expect that the government will soon introduce changes to capital gains tax. Support measures introduced by the UK government as a result of the coronavirus crisis are anticipated to have cost around £190 billion. This eye-watering sum was needed to help steer the economy through lockdown and into the much hoped for recovery…. Read more »
When owners reach a decision to sell their business, often the first assumption is to market their business for sale to a third party buyer. This process can be fraught and usually involves marketing the business for sale, due diligence and lengthy negotiations, which can be time consuming and expensive. However, more often there is… Read more »
Boris Johnson recently announced that, as part of the easing of lockdown restrictions, all non-essential shops across England may reopen from 15th June. However, this is subject to meeting the Government guidelines designed to protect shoppers and workers from the risk of infection. The announcement will be welcome news to many business owners, but for… Read more »
We are often approached by clients to draft a “shareholders’ agreement” for their Company. This is a good idea and clients are often prompted by their accountant or financial adviser to have such an agreement in place. However, that is only half the story. We also must consider (in this context) the Articles of Association… Read more »
Although there is no longer any statutory requirement for private companies limited by shares to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the same way as public companies, they may still be required to do so by their existing articles of association, or still maintain the practice of holding them once a year. If they… Read more »
