Business plan meaning

This checklist is intended to guide you if you need to close your firm. Read it alongside subtopic: Firm closure plan, particularly Practice Note: Firm closure plan-key considerations. Plan and dates ☐ Create a firm closure plan (see Precedent: Firm closure plan). Recommended to show you can carry out an orderly wind-down of your activities, as required by the SRA-SRA Code for Firms, para 2.4. (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) ☐ Allocate responsibility for the plan. Recommended. (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) ☐ Set a closure date. Recommended. (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) Notifications ☐ Send a completed Firm Closure Notification form to the SRA. Compulsory-SRA Code for Firms, para 2.5. (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) ☐ Notify staff. Recommended. (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding...

This Checklist sets out core topics for firms entering consumer credit, addressing essential management and compliance matters within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) framework. It organises themes such as authorisation, threshold conditions, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), systems and controls, business planning, FCA Principles, the Consumer Duty and continuing regulatory duties, including adherence to the Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC) and the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974). For fuller guidance, including how the application process works, see Practice Note: FCA authorisation of consumer credit firms. Scope and regulatory status Do the firm’s activities amount to regulated consumer credit activities under section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000), and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544 (RAO)? See Practice Notes: The general prohibition and implications of its breach and Regulated activities relating to consumer credit Does the firm offer (or plan to offer) buy now pay later (BNPL)/deferred payment credit (DPC) style products?...

This checklist sets out the main points to consider when shaping an online brand protection strategy. Use it alongside the Practice Note: Brand protection online—strategy. Protecting the brand Have you established the right safeguards? Have you secured suitable trade mark and other relevant registrations? Is there a global filing and enforcement plan to avoid issues in first-to-file countries? Are you tracking unauthorised activity? (see below for details) Have you set enforcement criteria to prioritise particular infringements? Are you ready to act swiftly through take-down procedures? Have you ensured official brand sites maintain a strong online presence? Are you leveraging technological advances to make authentic items harder to copy? Do you maintain good working relationships with customs and law enforcement agencies? Do third parties know the business will rigorously protect its brands? Do you have robust compliance measures in place? Do you publish a website IP notice that makes third parties aware...

Business continuity plan (BCP) flowchart Use this Business continuity plan (BCP) flowchart to guide your way through our BCP Precedents. It is attached to Precedent: Business continuity plan—BCP. The schematic beneath outlines the principal steps for creating a business continuity plan...

This flowchart shows how to handle a data protection incident (including a cyber security incident) in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). It mirrors the UK GDPR’s rules on reporting and recording personal data breaches, alongside the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance on breach management. It charts the end-to-end breach lifecycle, offering direction and links to the relevant precedents for each step of the process. See Precedents: Personal data breach plan, Data breach report form—internal and Data breach assessment and action plan, which steer you through every stage of this workflow. Note 1—assemble data breach team The initial action is to bring together your data breach team. Decide who in the organisation is best positioned to respond promptly to the incident and who should support the ensuing enquiry. This typically calls for contributions from specialists across the business, including IT, HR and compliance/legal, and may, in some instances, involve engagement with external stakeholders and suppliers. The Precedent: Personal data breach plan urges you to...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Energy efficiency of products Energy for environmental lawyers ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change Defra opens consultation on industrial emissions permitting reforms The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun consulting on plans to modernise England’s environmental permitting regime for industrial emissions. The package aims to foster innovation, adopt agile standards, secure proportionate and coherent regulation, boost regulator effectiveness and efficiency, and deliver a transparent system. Suggested measures include a new registration route for low-risk installations, flexible site permits setting overall emissions caps, and faster approvals for time‑limited technology trials. The proposals reflect the Corry Review’s critique of regulatory inefficiency. The Environment Agency intends to roll out changes that could cut permit queues from months to days and lower...

In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Renewable energy Conventional power, waste to energy, biomass, and CHP projects International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Key developments and materials DBT publishes UK’s critical mineral strategy The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has released a suite of resources setting out the government’s plan to secure supplies of critical minerals for UK industry and energy security. The Resilience for the Future policy paper explains that the UK will speed up growth of domestic capability, work with international partners, and strengthen global markets so they are more responsive, transparent, and responsible. See: LNB News 10/05/2024 31. Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem launches BAT consultation Ofgem has opened a consultation on lifting the current prohibition on acquisition-only tariffs (BAT). The ban was...

In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Conventional power, waste to energy, biomass, and CHP projects Nuclear energy Planning issues in energy projects International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Ofgem publishes determinations on code manager selection for REC and BSC Ofgem has issued two determinations, setting out its conclusions under section 187(1) of the Energy Act 2023 to move ahead with appointing code managers for the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) and the Retail Energy Code (REC) without running a competition. As a consequence, both the Retail Energy Code Company Ltd and Elexon Ltd will, respectively, be asked to provide a licensing assessment form. Ofgem will subsequently review the submissions and confirm whether it proposes to award each entity a licence. See:...

Family business culture Given the relatively high expense of sourcing and appointing senior staff, holding on to the right people with the right expertise is vital for any firm, and even more so for a family-run enterprise where hiring can be tougher than for rivals. Working in a family company brings upsides; research points to greater loyalty, satisfaction, flexibility and security. Yet drawbacks can appear, such as ambiguity, perceived unfairness, muddled accountability and family politics. The task is to bring in senior leaders who align with the culture and to ensure they are incentivised to remain and help grow the business. Therefore, a family business must shape recruitment and induction so they reflect its distinctive culture and complexity. Not every senior executive will thrive in a family setting, and cultural alignment may, in the end, matter as much as formal credentials. This must be weighed against the need to attract high-calibre people and keep them engaged for the long haul. Practical measures available to family firms include supporting new...

The White Paper, ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’, released on 12 May 2025, sets out a broad suite of major reforms spanning several areas of immigration policy. Many measures align with the Labour government’s commitment to lower net migration, including through a rework of skills policy. This Practice Note distils the principal proposals for business immigration practitioners, offers commentary on potential impacts, monitors implementation as it unfolds, and directs readers to relevant resources. Resources Immigration White Paper heralds significant changes to UK immigration system — LNB News, 12/05/2025, 44 Immigration White Paper—some further indications on timing, and who settlement reforms could affect — LNB News, 13/05/2025, 8 What can sponsors and Skilled Workers do to address the White Paper proposals — Ben Maitland, Senior Associate, Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law Immigration reform plan creates new headaches for employers — Law360 MAC review on IT and Engineering cautions on skills approach — LNB News, 29/05/2025, 6 MAC publishes family visa financial requirements...

Why do companies have reorganisations? Groups of companies carry out reorganisations for numerous and varied reasons. These steps will frequently have implications for existing share plans and other employee equity arrangements. In some instances, the consequences are commercial in nature. Examples include: the reorganisation prompting early vesting, exercise and/or lapse of awards because the relevant provisions in the share plan rules on a change in control of the parent company, or on the participant’s employment ending, have been engaged; and a requirement for awards over shares in the current parent to be swapped for awards over shares in a newly formed parent company. In certain situations, if the right steps are not taken within a defined period, valuable tax advantages may ultimately be lost entirely. Common types of reorganisation The most frequent forms of reorganisation include the following: placing a new group holding or parent entity above an existing company or group, often to enable an initial...

Precedent presentation on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues Crafted as a training resource for employers and their HR teams, this Precedent presentation covers the essentials of ESG, why it is significant, and ways to identify the organisation’s most important issues. It explains HR’s role within the ESG agenda, highlights the importance of collaboration across functions, and sets out practical steps for building an ESG programme alongside a corresponding action plan for the organisation as a whole...

1 Management commitment Person accountable for the Product Safety Incident Plan (PSIP) [ Insert name and contact details of senior person in the organisation responsible for leading, developing and periodically reviewing the policy, and reporting on its operation to the Board ] Plan Review Date [ Insert date of next plan review ] 1.1 [ Insert organisation name ] aims to ensure every product it [ produces AND/OR distributes ] is safe, of high quality and meets all applicable legislation and standards. [ Insert organisation name ] evaluates those products and acts to remove, or, where that is not achievable, to reduce, any identified safety risks. 1.2 [ Insert organisation name ] achieves this through quality assurance, ongoing product monitoring [ , review of customer complaints and product returns, ] and risk assessment, in accordance with the relevant section of the PSIP. 1.3 The PSIP has been shaped with contributions from across the business, including [ eg design, production, quality assurance, customer services,...

This Precedent includes a PowerPoint team brand workshop template with accompanying notes to help you run a session with your team to identify the key activities and values you want your business to be recognised for. It guides you and the group through sharing and refining ideas, then moves into setting concrete actions and clear next steps. 1 Meeting logistics Let the team know in advance that this will be a working session and ask them to consider how they add value to the business, arriving prepared to share their views. Have to hand paper, one pack of sticky notes per person, marker pens for everyone, and a space in the room where items can be put up on the wall. Plan for two and a half hours, including a 15-minute comfort break halfway through (based on five to ten attendees). Appoint someone in the team to help with timekeeping and to compile a list of actions, owners and timescales to capture at the end of the meeting....

Form LTBT1 Form LTBT1 is prescribed by the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003, SI 2003/3096 (the Order). Where the parties intend to contract out of, or exclude, sections 24–28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), the Order stipulates that particular steps must be completed before any such agreement is concluded. Landlords frequently seek the flexibility of a contracted‑out lease, as it allows the tenancy to end on expiry of the term without the tenant acquiring a right to a new lease. Under the LTA 1954, the former position required court approval for a contracted‑out arrangement (the Pre‑2004 Procedure). The Order replaced that regime with a new process that obliges the landlord to serve a warning notice in, or in a form substantially similar to, that set out in SI 2003/3096. This notice must be given before the lease is granted or, if the parties propose to enter into an agreement for lease, before that agreement is made, because the tenant must receive...

The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPC Regulations), SI 2012/3118 The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (EPC Regulations), SI 2012/3118 have applied since 9 January 2013. They place specific duties on owners of buildings they plan to sell or let to third parties. They implement Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings. It is useful first to consider what is meant by a building under the EPC Regulations, SI 2012/3118. Under reg 2(1), a building is a roofed structure with walls where energy is used to regulate the indoor climate, and this will generally also cover a building unit within that building. The same regulation provides that a building unit is a section, storey or apartment within a building designed or adapted for separate use. It follows that the term extends to any building fitted with some form of heating or air-cooling plant that consumes energy. In addition,...

In summary In summary, a business can design its share plan to grant employees who resign voluntarily an equity bonus equivalent to that given to retirees. That said, the tax outcome may differ: according to the form of employee share plan selected and operated, awards might be unable to obtain the same tax-advantaged treatment. Both tax-advantaged and non-tax-advantaged share plans exist in such schemes...