The European Commission has adopted two adequacy decisions confirming the UK as an adequate jurisdiction for GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive purposes, which will allow the uninterrupted free flow of personal data from the European Union to the UK. The issue of international data transfers has long been the main area of concern from a … Read more

The Government has further extended some of the temporary measures put in place to protect companies against the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures have already been extended on a number of occasions. Restrictions on the issue of winding up petitions New regulations have extended the duration of the temporary restrictions on the issue … Read more

In what is likely to be the most significant change to the UK restructuring and insolvency market since the Enterprise Act 2002, the Court has paved the way for restructuring plans (RPs) under Part 26A to the Companies Act 2006 to be used to compromise the rights of landlords, financial creditors and other unsecured creditors … Read more

Some of the relaxations afforded to companies to help them with administrative issues during the pandemic are no longer, or will shortly cease to be, available. Shareholder meetings The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) contains provisions that temporarily relaxed the company meeting requirements in the Companies Act 2006 and allowed shareholder meetings to … Read more

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has delivered his second Budget. The exceptional circumstances of the past year have forced the Chancellor to tread a fine line between revenue raising and continuing to support struggling businesses, individuals, and the fragile economic recovery. The main fiscal measure of note was the announcement of a 6% … Read more

ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA) has published guidance for companies in connection with the 2021 AGM season. The guidance discusses a number of legal and practical issues in relation to holding AGMs in 2021, including: Planning a meeting – The guidance states that companies should plan to hold shareholder meetings based on the restrictions … Read more

The UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in a high profile jurisdictional challenge relating to group claims brought against Royal Dutch Shell Plc and its Nigerian subsidiary in connection with alleged pollution in the Niger Delta. The claimants (some 42,500 individuals from the Niger Delta region) brought proceedings in the English courts against Royal … Read more

The GC100, the association of general counsel and company secretaries of FTSE 100 companies, has published a discussion paper on shareholder meetings, titled “Shareholder Meetings – Time for Change?”. The paper reviews the current format of annual general meetings (AGMs). It notes the typically low attendance and participation rates at physical meetings and that very … Read more