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Introduction to freezing injunctions and scope of this checklist A freezing injunction (also known as a freezing order) is a temporary court order that prevents a respondent from disposing of or transferring its assets out of the relevant jurisdiction—namely England and Wales—or, in the case of a worldwide freezing order (WFO), from moving them anywhere in the world. The court’s principal aim in granting such relief is to preserve the respondent’s assets so that, if the applicant later obtains judgment against the respondent, there will be assets available for recovery by the applicant and, if necessary, enforcement action. This Checklist explains how to make an application for a freezing injunction where claims are contemplated or already underway in a corporate or personal insolvency context. As the precise circumstances of each matter must be assessed, this Checklist does not claim to be exhaustive; rather, it provides an overview of the key considerations at each stage when seeking an order of this kind. The focus throughout is asset preservation pending determination...
1. Settlor Gather the following details about the settlor (or each settlor, where there is more than one): full name and courtesy title status date of birth address domicile nationality usual residence a schedule of assets and liabilities (for this purpose, a separate schedule is useful) 2. Name of the trust Confirm with the settlor what the trust should be named 3. ...
Test for delay A stay is an exceptional measure, invoked only as a last resort. The court will stay proceedings only if it is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that delay means a fair trial cannot take place. In this context, two principal bases can justify a stay: the defendant can no longer have a fair trial it is not fair for the defendant to be tried at all The burden is on the defendant to show, on the balance of probabilities, that a fair trial is no longer achievable. Even if delay is proved, the judge retains a discretion to refuse a stay where the trial’s fairness can be protected by appropriate case management...
Legal Issues General comments This Checklist highlights the principal provisions and matters to consider when drafting and negotiating time of the essence clauses. What to watch out for For a Precedent time of the essence clause with comprehensive drafting notes, see Precedent: Time of the essence clause. For guidance on time of the essence, the exceptions to the general rule, and practical considerations for customers and suppliers, see Practice Note: Time of the essence. Nature of the term: condition, innominate term or warranty Time is of the essence where the parties expressly state that time will be of the essence. If time is of the essence, delay may entitle a party to terminate the contract and to claim damages. Without express wording, time will be of the essence only if it is a condition of the contract. Where the timing provision is interpreted as an innominate term or a warranty, the remedy is generally confined to damages, unless the breach is very serious or...
VBER 2022 flowchart This flowchart provides an at‑a‑glance pathway to assess whether the VBER 2022 safe harbour applies to an agreement. For the purposes of the flowchart, it is taken that the agreement is a vertical arrangement and that it complies with Article 2(3), VBER 2022 (concerning IP provisions) and, where relevant, Articles 2(4)–(6), VBER 2022 (relating to dual distribution). Throughout the flowchart, the VBER 2022 is referred to as the EU VBER...
Opposed business lease renewal—flowchart This flowchart outlines the process for an opposed renewal of a business lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). It covers timing for service of an opposed section 25 notice, or a section 26 request counter-notice identifying the ground(s) of opposition under LTA 1954, s 30(1), the commencement of opposed proceedings, filing statements of case, and the court’s ultimate order—termination or grant of a new lease, or discontinuance or dismissal of the claim If the tenant remains in occupation for business purposes after the contractual term ends, the lease continues automatically, provided the conditions in LTA 1954, s 23 are met Either party may end the statutory protection under the existing lease by serving a termination notice: landlord’s section 25 notice; tenant’s section 26 request; section 27 notice. This flowchart addresses opposed renewals only. For the unopposed renewal route, see: Unopposed lease renewal procedure—flowchart. Note 1: Diarise a date at least 12–18...
In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Case management Evidence and disclosure ADR Scottish Dispute Resolution New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Dispute Resolution Highlights 2025/2026 Key DR developments Alternative dispute resolution European Parliament adopts new rules to modernise out-of-court dispute resolution for consumers The European Parliament has approved refreshed measures to enhance consumer out-of-court complaint handling, updating the EU’s ADR framework for the digital landscape and cross-border disputes. The reforms delineate ADR’s reach to cover matters arising both before and after contractual agreements, and in specified circumstances enable involvement by traders from third countries. The directive will come into force 20 days following publication and will begin to apply 32 months thereafter. For more, see: Parliament adopts new rules to modernise out-of-court dispute resolution for consumers—LNB News 16/12/2025 Court information HMCTS update hearing...
Although the government chose not to advance a proposal to give firms a heavier burden of responsibility, the reforms still carry real weight for companies and investors. They tighten the eligibility tests and enhance both investor declarations and compulsory information standards. Businesses must be compliant by the go-live date. Those seeking capital under the financial promotion exemptions will have to include additional disclosures in their investor communications. This is intended to help prospective investors perform basic due diligence on the person’s investment marketing, and to support the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in examining possible non-compliance with the exemptions. HM Treasury consulted two years ago on revisions to the financial promotion exemptions in the Financial Promotion Order for high net worth individuals and sophisticated investors. In its November 2023 consultation response, the government set out the final changes, which take effect from 31 January 2024. Below, we look at what companies should note to remain compliant with the updated conditions in the revised exemptions and offer a few practical pointers for...
On Tower UK Ltd v British Telecommunications Plc [2025] EWCA Civ 844 What are the practical implications of this case? Landlords and site providers will need to ensure that an agreement’s term has been, or will be, brought to an end in accordance with its contractual terms before serving paragraph 31 notices under the Electronic Communications Code, in Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003 (CA 2003) (Code), where those notices are intended to take effect after the contractual term has ended. The decision leaves open whether a landlord or site provider must wait for a break notice to expire, and demonstrate satisfaction of any break pre-conditions, before a paragraph 31 notice can then be issued; or whether it is adequate simply to serve the break notice and then—perhaps the following day—a paragraph 31 notice (or even to place both mechanisms within a single document). If that latter course is available, there remains the question of what the position would be if one or more break pre-conditions ultimately cannot...
Resource Note This Resource Note signposts key commentary, analysis and materials to aid interpretation and offer practical direction on using Chapter 2 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 2). Where relevant, it draws on: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook FCA Knowledge Base—Procedural and Technical notes (formal guidance binding on the FCA) FCA consultation and discussion papers, policy and feedback statements, and warnings Primary Market Bulletins and other FCA publications legacy UKLA technical and procedural notes and the UKLA’s newsletter List!, where still pertinent assimilated EU legislation EU Directives and EU Regulations, where helpful to construing a provision Lexis+® UK analysis and resources Setting the scene What it covers: DTR 2 prescribes the framework for issuers to disclose and manage inside information, supporting timely and even-handed release of market-sensitive information. It also identifies specific situations permitting a delay to public disclosure of inside information, together with the safeguards required to keep such information...
Practice Note Use this Practice Note to identify the governing law before the courts of England and Wales for harmful events that took place between 11 January 2009 and 31 December 2020. Where incidents happened outside those dates, the UK courts will apply an alternative choice-of-law regime, and the regime engaged turns solely on the date of the occurrence. If the date falls outside that span, a different regime applies, selected by reference to timing of the event. For direction on those regimes and how they interrelate, see Practice Note: Applicable law regimes. It summarises the special rules governing particular heads of claim under Regulation (EC) 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II). The topics include product liability, unfair competition and restraints on free competition, environmental harm, intellectual property (IP) rights, industrial action, unjust enrichment, negotiorum gestio—i.e. agency without authority, and culpa in contrahendo—fault in forming a contract, as well as insurance...
Forthcoming change: Sections 6–7 of the Finance Act 2026 provide that, with effect from 6 April 2027, an individual’s property income will be subject to income tax at the property basic rate of 22%, the property higher rate of 42%, and the property additional rate of 47% for a given tax year. A person’s property income is treated as the highest portion of their income, save where they also have savings and/or dividend income. Where savings and/or dividend income arises, the property income is taken to be the portion of the person’s income that falls immediately before the savings and/or dividend income. FA 2026, Schedule 1, makes consequential amendments to ITA 2007. For these purposes, property income means income that is: chargeable under Chapter 3 of Part 3 of ITTOIA 2005 (profits of a UK property business or an overseas property business) chargeable under Chapter 7 of that Part chargeable under Chapter 8 of that Part chargeable under Chapter 9...
Dear [ insert client’s name ] Conditional order I confirm receipt of the certificate of entitlement to a conditional order and enclose a copy for your records. As indicated, the court has scheduled [ insert date ] at [ insert time ] for the pronouncement of the conditional order in your case. A conditional order signifies that the court has accepted you are entitled to a [ divorce OR dissolution ], although it has not yet been made final. Such orders are pronounced in open court, meaning the judge reads out a list of the names of those whose applications have reached the conditional order stage...
Heads of terms—private M&A—share purchase—cross-border Strictly private and confidential To: [ Insert seller name ] [ Insert potential seller address ] (the Seller) FAO: [ insert name of relevant contact at the seller ] Date: [ insert date ] Subject to contract Dear [ insert name of relevant contact at the potential seller ], Proposed acquisition of the entire issued share capital of [ insert target company name ] (the Company) from [ insert potential seller name ] (the Seller) 1 Introduction Following our recent conversations, this letter outlines the key terms and conditions on which we, [ insert buyer name ] or another company within our group (the Buyer), intend to purchase all issued shares in the Company (the Sale Shares) from the Seller (the Proposed Acquisition). Each of the Seller and the Buyer is a party and, collectively, they are the parties. The provisions in this letter are not comprehensive and [ , with the exception of paragraphs [ 7.3, ] 8, 9 and...
Date: [ insert date ] Employee’s name: [ insert name ] Employee’s date of birth: [ insert date of birth ] Employee’s address: [ insert address ] Employer’s name: [ insert name ] Private and confidential To: [ insert name of doctor ] I acknowledge that my employer intends to obtain a medical report from you in order to: evaluate my capacity for work and the anticipated timing of my return; determine whether any underlying health issue explains my frequent absences from work; organise the work in my department, and consider the effect of my absence from or...
A well-known problem amongst procurement professionals A widely recognised headache for procurement practitioners arises from the duty in regulation 53 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102 (PCR 2015, SI 2015/102, reg 53). It requires the ‘procurement documents’ to be accessible at the time a public contract is advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (the Official Journal, or OJEU). In essence, contracting authorities must use the internet to provide unrestricted, complete and immediate access, at no cost, to those documents from the day a notice, issued under regulation 51, appears in the Official Journal, or from the day an invitation to confirm interest is dispatched. The issue most often raised, particularly for public procurements run under the restricted procedure (and comparable routes that involve a pre-qualification phase ahead of the award stage), is whether the invitation to tender and the specification must already be available when the contract notice is published in the OJEU. Timing this disclosure often proves challenging for contracting authorities...
When one company advances funds to another, the contractual provisions govern any restriction on repaying the loan before the ten-year period first contemplated. Should the lending company enter liquidation or administration, that circumstance, by itself, does not alter the contract’s terms. The office-holding insolvency practitioner should nevertheless review the agreement to determine whether it permits earlier repayment, or repayment on alternative terms, if the lending company goes into liquidation or administration. Although that may appear improbable, it remains possible, and the officeholder ought to explore every avenue to secure accelerated repayment of the borrowing. Absent an express clause to the contrary, the insolvency of the lender does not, of itself, accelerate the debt, and timing remains governed by the bargain. It would seem that the office-holding insolvency practitioner holds an appointment that must remain open for at least ten years before the loan can be discharged and a dividend distributed to creditors...
Clause 2.27.1 of the JCT Standard Building Contract 2011 (SBC) Clause 2.27.1 provides that where it becomes reasonably clear that progress of the Works, or any Section, is delayed or likely to be delayed, the Contractor must at once notify the Architect/Contract Administrator, explaining the material circumstances, including the reasons for the delay, and in that notice point out any occurrence he regards as a Relevant Event... Lexis+® UK practical point: the same wording appears in the Standard Building Contract 2016 (cl 2.27.1) and in the JCT Design and Build Contract 2011/2016 (cl 2.24.1), save that in the design and build forms the addressee ‘Architect/Contract Administrator’ is replaced by the ‘Employer’... Two principal questions arise when deciding whether a notification clause such as SBC clause 2.27.1 has been properly observed: what does the obligation to give notice ‘forthwith’ encompass, and is the contractor obliged to meet this condition? what level of notification/particulars of the ‘material circumstances’ must be provided? ...