Notional amount meaning

Easygroup Ltd v Easy Live (Services) Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 2282 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The practical impact of this ruling centres on whether a likelihood of confusion arises even where the signs are similar and the services are identical or akin. Here, the outcome hinged on the notion that the notional average consumer, on encountering a trader using a sign including the word ‘easy’, would not automatically suppose that another trader using a sign with the same word is linked to the first. This is because such a consumer would not believe that any one business could claim a monopoly over all marks that incorporate the descriptive term ‘easy’. In this dispute, the further elements present in each sign, when combined with the conceptual distinctions between the marks, were enough to allow consumers to recognise that the signs signified different commercial origins. Accordingly, despite similarities and overlaps in the services, the overall impression created by each mark enabled the public to...

ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. From 1 April 2017, the worldwide debt cap rules were repealed and superseded by the corporate interest restriction (CIR) rules. Accordingly, the worldwide debt cap described here should be treated as relevant only for periods before 1 April 2017, being the date the CIR took effect. For any period straddling that date, the debt cap should be applied to a notional period ending on 31 March 2017. For more on the CIR, which replaces and repeals the debt cap, see Practice Note: Corporate interest restriction. Relief for finance costs of UK-resident companies that are members of large groups may be restricted (ie disallowed) where, broadly, the group’s UK-based net debt exceeds 75% of the group’s gross debt (the gateway test). The debt cap applies to periods of account beginning on or after 1 January 2010. The provisions that bring about the restriction are often termed the worldwide debt cap regime (although it is possible that the regime...

What is a phantom award? In essence, phantom awards fall into two main types: phantom share awards and phantom options. Phantom share awards A phantom share award gives the holder a right to a cash sum mirroring the value of an actual share. These arrangements are also known as ‘shadow shares’, ‘synthetic shares’, or ‘equity appreciation units’; for simplicity, this note calls them ‘phantoms’ and ‘phantom share awards’. Phantom options A phantom option typically entitles the holder to the increase in the value of a real share above a notional exercise or base price. Practical example BigCo Limited is a rapidly expanding private UK company seeking to launch an incentive plan that allows all employees to participate and share in any future growth of the business. Its investor base, however, is reluctant to issue actual shares to employees, as that would dilute the current investor shareholders. By granting phantom awards to its workforce, BigCo Limited can provide employees with a right to a...

This Practice Note explains the anti-avoidance rules relating to ‘mixed member partnerships’, ie partnerships with a mix of individual and non-individual partners. ‘Mixed member partnerships’ are those with both individual and non-individual members, the latter being, for instance, a company or an individual serving as a trustee. Such a firm may take the form of a general partnership, a limited partnership, or a limited liability partnership (LLP). In the ordinary course, both profits and losses are allocated in accordance with the profit-sharing terms agreed by the partners. Arrangements can nevertheless be crafted to take advantage of the fact that individuals typically face higher tax rates than other entities. A common approach is for the individual partners to form a company to join as a corporate partner. The individuals then occupy two positions: partners in the firm and shareholders in the company. In a profitable period, a greater proportion of profits would be directed to the company to benefit from the lower corporation tax rate versus income tax. The partners...