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Can an English limited partnership create a floating charge?
This article examines whether a floating charge can be granted over the assets of a limited partnership to secure borrowings.
12 April 2026“Not your key, not your coin”: the private key and ownership
Ownership, possession and control of an asset have long been intertwined in the public’s consciousness. Albeit implicitly recognising that a possessory title can be displaced by a superior legal title, the old adage “possession is nine-tenths of the law” remains a popular refrain carrying more than a grain of truth. Following a series of high-profile collapses of crypto custodians in “the crypto winter”, a digital equivalent has emerged: “not your key, not your coin”. This article considers the private key and its role in legal analysis of cryptocurrencies.
12 April 2026Overseas firms carrying out cryptoasset business in the UK: what you need to know
The UK stands on the cusp of implementing a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptoassets, fundamentally reshaping the landscape for firms wishing to serve UK clients. The final form of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025 has been laid before parliament and, together with the Financial Conduct Authority’s consultations on the new cryptoasset regime, sets out the activities within scope, the geographical reach of the regime, and the expectations for both domestic and overseas firms. As the regime nears full commencement (scheduled for 25 October 2027), cryptoasset businesses, whether based in the UK or abroad, must assess whether their operations will be captured by the new requirements and prepare for authorisation and ongoing compliance.
12 April 2026Primary and secondary rights in the Quincecare litigation arena: another dimension of the debt versus damages debate
Private law remedies correspond to the nature of the primary right breached. Within the Quincecare litigation arena, this uncontroversial proposition forces a needed – and potentially uncomfortable – inquiry: is the claimant customer (the principal) asserting a: (i) primary right to be paid the account balance exclusive of any unauthorised debiting by the defendant bank (in accordance with the customer’s agent’s instructions); or (ii) a secondary right arising upon negligent execution of a valid mandate? This article proposes that the two claims occupy distinct realms as they aim to protect distinct primary duties. A claim in debt vindicates the customer’s primary right to performance of the mandate, which entitles the customer not to have the account’s balance diminished by a debit without authority. Contrastingly, a claim in damages for breach of the Quincecare duty compensates for the customer’s right to have the bank’s payment services carried out with reasonable skill and care and thus concerns the manner in which the execution of the payment instruction has occurred. A reconsideration of these two distinct duties can assist claimants in carefully characterising their claims in light of the limited scope of the Quincecare duty’s application post-Phillip .
12 April 2026Succumbing to wrongful payment demands: what can borrowers do?
This article examines a recurring issue in finance disputes: the demand for payment or service of an acceleration notice in circumstances where the borrower contends that the relevant contractual precondition has not been satisfied. An invalid acceleration notice is generally characterised as a nullity rather than a breach of contract. Where a borrower pays for commercial reasons even though it believes that the sum is not due, restitution is generally unavailable because the borrower cannot show that it paid under a mistake.
12 April 2026Providence and party intention: the Supreme Court on industry-wide standard forms
How should industry-wide standard form contracts be interpreted? Should contracting parties be permitted to refer to past versions of the same standard form to determine the meaning of later versions? In this article, Teen Jui Chow and Alex Forzani explore the Supreme Court’s recent answers to those questions.
12 April 2026Calling a spade a spade: substance over form in covenants restraining further borrowing
This article explores whether negative covenants restraining borrowers from assuming further borrowing at certain interest rates might be evaded and the importance of treating interest as a matter of substance not form.
28 February 2026Political risk in project and infrastructure finance: rising challenges and modern mitigation strategies
Drawing on transaction experience across Europe, the CIS, Asia and Africa, this article examines the most material political risks affecting project finance today and assesses how mitigation strategies have evolved in response.
Project finance has always involved the allocation and management of complex risks across financing construction, legal, operational and political domains. Among these, political risk has become a central constraint on bankability, particularly for large infrastructure, energy and natural resources projects operating across borders.
This shift reflects a broader change in behaviour of states. Governments are more interventionist in sectors viewed as strategic, fiscal pressures are increasing and geopolitical fragmentation has reduced tolerance for long-term private contractual arrangements that limit public policy flexibility. As a result, political risk can no longer be treated as a residual issue addressed through standard documentation; it has become a core structuring consideration for lenders and sponsors. From a lender perspective, this shift has tangible consequences. Political risk is no longer assessed late in the diligence process or treated as residual documentation issue; it increasingly dictates whether a transaction proceeds at all.
Increasingly, these risks are shaped not only by host-state behaviour but by wider geopolitical dynamics, including sanctions regimes, strategic competition over natural resources, and intervention by third states pursuing national or regional interests. As a result, projects may be exposed to political risk even where domestic institutions appear stable and contractual frameworks are robust. This shift marks a move from traditional country risk analysis towards a broader assessment of geopolitical risk, which can evolve rapidly and is often beyond the control of project counterparties.
LMEs under attack: possible challenges and how they might succeed
With the ever-increasing and more ambitious use of out-of-court liability management exercises mechanisms for debt restructuring, dissenting creditors are having to consider the possible claims that they can bring to challenge an unfair transaction. In this article, we consider the possible claims that might be brought, the consequences of a successful challenge, and the novel issues that the courts will face if and when challenges become more frequent.
28 February 2026To ban or not to ban; that is the (cryptoasset) question
This article provides an overview of the relevant regulatory systems and policy frameworks across key jurisdictions, illustrating the complexity of the choice faced by regulators between banning and regulating cryptoassets. It examines three dominant approaches.
27 February 2026
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