Corporate Matters
In acquisitions of service businesses much of the value of the target will often be tied up with the key employees and the relationships generated by them. The consequences of losing any of these key employees post-completion could be disastrous...
Parties commonly use language such as "best endeavours" or "reasonable endeavours" to assume a less than absolute obligation under a contract. It is difficult to provide definitive advice on how any such wording is likely to be...
A recent paper produced by the Auditing Practices Board and the Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Reporting Council emphasises the importance of the requirement for a company's annual accounts to give a "true and fair view" of the...
12 September is the scheduled date of publication of the report by the Vickers Commission on bank reform. In a recent speech, the Chancellor appeared to put his weight behind the option of ringfencing the retail customer, mortgages and small business loans...
The latest development in relation to Project Merlin is the threat by the Business Secretary Vince Cable that if there is no evidence of the banks having made a significant effort to achieve the lending targets agreed with the Government, it will revisit its...
It appears, unsurprisingly, that Project Merlin - the commitment to credit availability agreed earlier in the year between the Treasury and the four largest banks (HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and RBS) - has failed to meet its unofficial quarterly target for...
The recent disqualification of the so-called "Phoenix Four" has highlighted one of the consequences of misconduct by company directors. The four businessmen purchased MG Rover in 2000 - the car manufacturer subsequently went into administration in...
A recent case provides a salutary reminder that an "entire agreement" clause does not necessarily do what it says on the tin. Many commercial contracts will contain a clause to the effect that the contract constitutes the entire agreement between...
According to a recent CBI quarterly trends survey of manufacturers, 36% said that they had seen an increase in output during the past three months. This seems encouraging, but one wonders about the impact on the economy of the protracted holiday between...
Earlier this month, the Government launched its "Red Tape Challenge" website with the aim of reducing unnecessary regulation. How does it intend to do this? By inviting comments from the general public on regulations grouped under various themes. ...
The Supreme Court has recently dismissed an appeal against the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Farstad Supply AS v Enviroco Ltd regarding the application of the Companies Act decision on subsidiary companies. Whilst likely in practice to be of...
Companies House has announced a new web incorporation service, which has been up and running since 6 April 2011. It enables anyone to incorporate a simple private company limited by shares (and adopting the basic form of statutory default model articles)...
Given that new clients tend to navigate to our main office by following the large Tesco Express sign next door, it seems fitting to write a blog on the supermarket giant. Apparently, their recent price promise initiative had some unexpected results....
Most of the post-Budget headlines have focused on the energy companies' reactions to the windfall tax on profits from oil and gas production, designed to subsidise the cut in fuel duty. The weekend's papers seem to suggest the likelihood of tax...
In the current climate, directors are understandably becoming increasingly concerned about potential personal liability in the event of corporate failure. The recent Supreme Court decision in Holland v Revenue and Customs & Anor considered the position...
Following the first conviction under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, it appears that the jury is still out on whether the Act will lead to more high profile convictions where gross negligence has resulted in death. On 17...
Most employers will be aware of the abolition of the default retirement age of 65 but may not have appreciated one of the consequences in a corporate context. The DRA is being abolished with effect from 6 April 2011 (save in certain circumstances where...
On Wednesday the Treasury announced details of Project Merlin, the deal agreed with the four largest banks (HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and RBS) to make a total of £190bn of credit available to businesses in 2011, of which £76bn is to be made...
Of the many complaints regarding the frequently poorly designed new Companies House forms, most have centred on the requirement for lengthy statements of capital to be filed on each occasion that the issued share capital of a company is varied. In...
An interesting article in this week's Sunday Times highlighted the use by Premier League players of their own private companies to avoid paying tax on a significant chunk of their earnings. The scheme apparently works in the following way:- a...
