In Practice
190
Withholding tax: treaty shopping – or not?
In this In Practice article, the authors consider the recent Court of Appeal decision in Revenue and Customs v Burlington Loan Management DAC [2026] EWCA Civ 461 and its implications for practitioners.
29 June 2026DeFi exploits, on-chain interventions and the private key: recent developments in cryptoasset recovery
The author examines the significance of the Arbitrum Security Council’s recent decision to freeze and transfer misappropriated cryptoassets without the private key. The author assesses the implications of this intervention for the principle of “not your keys, not your coins”, the blurring of boundaries between custodial and non-custodial wallets, and the broader ramifications for cryptoasset enforcement and recovery in the English courts and beyond.
29 June 2026Raising the resilience bar: UK operational incident and third-party reporting reforms
New UK requirements will introduce a unified regulatory regime for operational incident reporting and reporting of material third‑party arrangements (MTPAs) from 18 March 2027. The rules, which are designed to align as far as possible with international regimes, introduce aligned definitions, templates, and processes for notifying regulators of serious operational incidents above a defined threshold and for registering and notifying new or significantly changed MTPAs. We take a look at the aims of the new regime, highlight key points to note and discuss implementation considerations for firms.
23 May 2026Golden Power 2026: navigating the latest Italian FDI screening developments
In this In Practice article the authors consider Italy’s Law No. 4 of 15 January 2026 which amends its foreign investment screening mechanism. The authors assess how the reform materially reshapes the procedural framework applicable to transactions concerning Italian banks, insurers and other financial institutions, as well as recent judicial developments affecting notification triggers for security interests in financing transactions and draw comparison with the UK National Security and Investment Act 2021.
23 May 2026AI lemons and the economics of unverifiable quality: Part 1 – old kinds of firms
The mainstream adoption of generative AI systems has raised the stakes around the issue of unverifiable quality. For lawyers and most clients the hard part with AI is verification, not performance. Generative AI is world changing but it is not currently possible to reliably predict when its mistakes will be trivial or obvious and when its mistakes will be catastrophic or not apparent. For investors the related problem is that verification of quality (in other words, what is investible) requires a mix of expertise and experience that is rare.
22 May 2026ECCTA 2023: implications for finance transactions
A key aim of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) is to reform the UK’s prevention, detection and prosecution measures for economic crime, particularly through strengthening corporate transparency and ensuring that legitimate business activities are not abused for illicit purposes. Recently core provisions have come into force and new guidance has emerged providing further insight and clues as to the practical implications and potential risks that ECCTA poses for workflows on loan finance transactions.
05 May 2026Referral to the Upper Tribunal: worth the risk?
The authors consider recent decisions in which the Upper Tribunal has closely scrutinised FCA penalty calculations and reduced fines. They consider the implications for firms and the regulator.
05 May 2026Beyond the nuclear option: collective action problems in fund governance
The removal of a general partner (GP) from an investment fund is among the most serious actions limited partners (LPs) can take. The collapse of the Abraaj Group in 2018 brought renewed scrutiny to the complexities of GP removal. It exposed the underlying structural and co-ordination issues in private fund governance.
05 May 2026Stablecoins: what could hinder their rise?
Stablecoins are growing exponentially within financial markets. They are a type of cryptoasset whose value is pegged to fiat currency and is intended to remain stable allowing for usage as a payment instrument. The stability of their value is guaranteed through their reserve assets which must be invested in safe, non-volatile, liquid instruments. As a result, stablecoin holders are assured of the issuer’s ability to meet their at-par redemption requests. Under the current EU and US regulatory framework, stablecoin issuers are not allowed to grant interest to holders such that holders receive no return. This may become problematic, when compared with commercial bank deposits and money market funds.
12 April 2026NAV facilities in 2026: structuring, governance and market practice considerations for sponsors
In this In Practice article the authors examine how English law-governed Net asset value (NAV) facilities are structured and negotiated in 2026. The article focuses on practical drafting themes relevant to sponsors, including structural separation, borrowing base and loan-to-value (LTV) mechanics, recourse-light structures, automatic NAV adjustment provisions and valuation governance. The aim is to identify the key areas where structuring decisions and negotiation strategy can materially affect flexibility, liquidity and risk allocation.
12 April 2026
