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Discount rate meaning

What does Discount rate mean?
The discount rate is the interest rate used to convert future cash flows or losses into their present value, so that damages, settlements and valuations reflect the time value of money and investment risk. In commercial and finance matters (for example DCF/NPV valuations, lost profits claims, insolvency, pensions and tax), it is a descriptive term rather than a fixed legal definition. The chosen rate is typically risk‑adjusted (for example, based on a risk‑free rate plus premia or a WACC) and can be a key point of expert evidence. In personal injury and clinical negligence, a statutory personal injury discount rate applies to calculate lump‑sum awards for future pecuniary loss (used with the Ogden Tables and multipliers): - England and Wales: set by the Lord Chancellor under the Damages Act 1996 (as amended by the Civil Liability Act 2018). - Scotland: set under the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Act 2019. - Northern Ireland: set under the Damages (Return on Investment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. - Ireland: there is no fixed statutory rate; courts determine the appropriate real rate on evidence, with periodic payment orders available under the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 2017. Choice of rate materially affects award size and settlement strategy.
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NEWS
PI and Clinical Negligence weekly update: clinical negligence appeal dismissed, RTA fraud contempt, PIDR minutes, Zubaydah choice of law, post-PACCAR funding, Automated Vehicles Bill call, PHSO report, litigation privilege

PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—7 March 2024 In this issue: Clinical negligence Fraud and fundamental dishonesty Damages Case management Costs Key PI & Clinical Negligence developments LexTalk®PI & Clinical Negligence: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Clinical negligence Administrative Court dismisses appeal in clinical negligence claim The King’s Bench Division Administrative Court (Birmingham), in Chilton v Payne [2024] EWHC 451 (Admin), rejected the appellant’s appeal against an order dismissing her claim for damages against the respondent surgeon for negligence. The case concerned an alleged omission by the respondent to provide, or ensure, sufficient abdominoplasty follow-up and/or aftercare. She maintained, among other grounds, that the judge had erred in fact and in law: (i) in concluding there was no breach of the post-operative duty of care; and (ii) in his treatment of factual causation. On appeal, the court affirmed that the judge was right to find no duty on the respondent to...

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NEWS
First FTT decision on CTA 2009 s 327 imported loss rule: £94m loan relationship loss referable to pre-migration non-UK residence disallowed (UK Care No 1 Ltd v HMRC)

UK Care No 1 Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 542 (TC) The FTT examined the operation of the ‘imported losses’ restriction contained in CTA 2009, s 327. Under that code, relief for a loss arising on a loan relationship is denied to the extent the loss is properly referable to a period during which the company attempting to bring it into account would not have been chargeable to corporation tax on any profits from that same loan relationship. The appellant, which was tax resident in Guernsey, had issued certain loan notes that were secured over the BUPA group’s UK care home undertaking. In 2016, BUPA sought to sell a number of care homes that constituted part of the security package supporting the notes. To enable those transactions to proceed, BUPA acquired the appellant, with the result that the appellant became UK tax resident, following which the notes were redeemed by the appellant itself. The loan notes incorporated a ‘Spens’ (or ‘make whole’) provision; broadly, this meant that on an...

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NEWS
PI and Clinical Negligence Update: Automated Vehicles Act 2024, PIDR Panel Minutes, QOCS in Detailed Assessment, and AI in Professional Negligence (30 May 2024)

In this issue: Road traffic accidents Damages Costs Other PI & Clinical negligence news Daily and weekly news alerts Road traffic accidents Automated Vehicles Act 2024 This Act sets the framework for the use of automated vehicles on highways and in other public spaces, and makes additional provision relating to vehicle automation. It took effect in part on 20 May 2024, and will be commenced in full on a date to be named by Regulations made by the Secretary of State. See: LNB News 23/05/2024 17. Damages MoJ publishes PIDR expert panel meeting minutes for April 2024 The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued the minutes of the Personal Injury Discount Rate (PIDR) expert panel meeting held on 25 April 2024...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence July 2025: discount rate, costs/QOCS, RTA reforms, CPR updates and leading cases (England and Wales) [Archived]

PI & Clinical negligence horizon scanner—July 2025 [Archived] ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained. It summarises the principal legal developments relevant to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as at July 2025. For developments predating this horizon scanner, see PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning and key cases—overview. Key PI and clinical negligence developments The personal injury discount rate—a review In late 2024, the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood MP, revealed the outcome of her five‑month review of the discount rate, initiated in July 2024. One month after the new +0.5% discount rate took effect, Thea Wilson (barrister at 12 King’s Bench Walk) assesses its impact on cases, the responses from claimant and defendant representatives, and the consequences of the change for legal practitioners. See News Analysis: The personal injury discount rate—a review. MoJ announces reduction in CFO’s interest rates The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced lower interest rates for the Courts Funds Office’s (CFO) special and basic accounts...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Law Firm Valuation: Discounted Economic Income Model with EBITDA, Risk-Adjusted Discount and Capitalisation Rates, Terminal Value and Worked Example

This Practice Note examines methods for valuing law firms and sets out the elements most prone to shape that assessment. Although several conventional approaches exist, it offers a worked illustration of an earnings-led valuation (discounted economic income). Investors commonly adopt this approach when pricing a company and, therefore, it is a vital computation to undertake before starting any talks. The outcome might be below your expectations, yet it provides a window into the sum an investor or acquirer could be prepared to offer. The discounted economic value model In brief, this model projects a firm’s future net cash profits and discounts them to today’s value. By applying an appropriate discount rate, it seeks to reflect the spectrum of risks the business encounters in generating that earnings flow over time. The exercise, therefore, converts anticipated cash returns across multiple years into a single current figure that recognises uncertainty, timing, and sustainability in the delivery of the net income stream...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Business rates (NNDR): legislative framework for billing, recovery, collection fund, transitional arrangements, exemptions, reliefs and multipliers, with reforms under NDRA 2023 and NDR(MPS)A 2025

National non-domestic rates (NNDR) This Practice Note sits within a broader series on NNDR. It sets out the legislative framework for billing and recovery, explains the collection fund, and outlines transitional reliefs and exemptions operating within the system, addressing periods both before and after the pandemic. For more on other facets of the NNDR scheme, see the following Practice Notes: National non-domestic rates—valuation and appeals National non-domestic rates—business improvement district, business rate supplements and retention Liability for business rates Currently, local authorities collectively keep half of business rates income. The remainder is paid to central government, which then uses it to fund grants for local authorities. For the 2023–24 financial year, authorities project non-domestic rating income of £25.1bn—representing what they expect to collect after allowing for all reliefs, accounting adjustments and amounts retained outside the rates retention scheme. They also estimate awarding £7bn in business rates relief during 2023–24...

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PRECEDENTS
Fatal Accidents: Schedule of Loss and Dependency Precedent (England and Wales) - LR(MP)A 1934 and FAA 1976, services and financial dependency, interest, Ogden tables at 0.5%

Schedule of loss & dependency in a fatal accident claim [ IN THE COUNTY COURT AT [ INSERT ] OR IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE ] [ [ Specify division ] ] [ [ Insert location ] DISTRICT REGISTRY ] Claim No: Between AB, Claimant (the Widow and Executrix of the estate of A, deceased) and C Limited, Defendant Note On 2 December 2024 the Lord Chancellor confirmed that the discount rate would move to a positive 0.5%. That positive 0.5% rate takes effect from 11 January 2025. Under Schedule A1 to the Damages Act 1996, later reviews must occur within five years of the end of the previous review, meaning the next review must begin on or before 2 December 2029. The Claimant retains the right to revise, modify or supplement this schedule at any time up to and including trial...

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PRECEDENTS
Precedent and worked example: personal injury schedule of loss (multi-track), including Ogden multipliers, pension loss and 0.5% discount rate—England and Wales

[ AT THE COUNTY COURT AT [ INSERT ] OR IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE ] [ [ SPECIFY DIVISION ] ] [ DISTRICT REGISTRY AT [ INSERT LOCATION ] ] Claim No: Between [ Insert name ] Claimant and [ Insert name ] Defendant ________________________________________________ SCHEDULE OF LOSS CALCULATED TO [ INSERT DATE OR INSERT THE DATE OF TRIAL ] ________________________________________________ Note On 2 December 2024, the Lord Chancellor declared that the discount rate would move to positive 0.5%. This positive 0.5% rate comes into effect on 11 January 2025. Schedule A1 to the Damages Act 1996 stipulates that later reviews are to occur within five years of the end of the preceding review, which means the next review must start on or before 2 December 2029. The Claimant reserves the ability to revise, amend, or supplement this schedule at any point up to and including trial. A....

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Q&As
Discounted CFA with LEI: usual rate on success, LEI rate if not?

What is a DCFA? Most practitioners know the ‘pure’ CFA, commonly referred to as a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement. Working under a pure CFA, the lawyer or legal representative is remunerated only upon a win, as the CFA expressly defines it. If that outcome is not achieved, no fee is payable for the professional work undertaken on the matter. For additional detail, see the subtopic: CFAs and DBAs for further information. A DCFA is often described as a ‘no win, lower fee’ arrangement in contrast to the pure CFA. Under a DCFA, the client agrees to meet the lawyer’s fees in full on success; if the case fails, a reduced fee is payable to the representative. The role of success fees Success fees exist to ensure a solicitor’s portfolio of CFA-backed litigation can operate at nil net loss overall. Put differently, the success uplifts on winning matters are designed to meet the base costs that cannot be recovered on losing matters within that portfolio...

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