Recent Articles

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  06.06.2023

  England and Wales

  Lim­it­a­tion peri­ods in fraud claims: Court of Ap­peal cla­ri­fic­a­tion

  IntroductionThe Court of Appeal (“CA”) has recently considered the application of s.32(1)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980 (“LA 1980”) which provides that where an action is based on the fraud of a defendant the limitation period does not begin to run until the claimant has discovered, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered, the fraud. This means that in a claim based on the tort of deceit, where the limitation period is 6 years, the claimant has 6 years from discovery of the fraud, or from when the fraud could have been discovered with reasonable diligence, to...

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  06.06.2023

  United Kingdom

  In­terest Cov­er Ra­tio De­fault?

  Higher global interest rates are continuing to add pressure on borrowers’ ability to comply with interest cover financial covenants and service the interest on their outstanding debt.In this finance briefing we consider the key initial steps and issues for lenders and borrowers facing a potential default of interest cover financial covenant in a real estate finance investment loan agreement.We discuss the legal and practical considerations involved with calculating historic and projected interest cover ratios, possible cure rights and the initial options potentially available for lenders...

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  06.06.2023

  Europe

  The European Com­mis­sion in­vest­ig­ates the pro­ject of ac­quis­i­tion of Asi­ana Air­lines by Korean Air­lines

  FR

  Korean Airlines notified the European Commission of its proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines on 13 January 2023. On 17 February 2023, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition to assess whether it could restrict competition on the markets of passenger and cargo air transport services between the EEA and South Korea. On 17 May 2023, the Commission issued a Statement of Objections to Korean Air.Korean Air has made a number of notifications to several national competition authorities responsible for merger control. Eleven countries (China, Australia, Malaysia,...

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  06.06.2023

  United Kingdom

  The UK’s new di­git­al re­gime reg­u­lat­ing firms with “stra­tegic mar­ket status”: who is with­in scope?

  This is the second in a series of articles analysing specific features of the digital and competition reforms contained in the recently published Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill). It follows our initial ‘first impressions’ overview of the reforms introduced by the Bill, available here.This article looks more closely at who will be caught by the proposed new digital regulatory regime, and how the designation process will work.  In short, the new regime for firms with ‘strategic market status’ is only expected to apply to a small number of businesses,...

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  05.06.2023

  Middle East

  UAE Cor­por­ate Tax Law: What Con­sti­tutes Qual­i­fy­ing In­come for Free Zone Per­sons?

  BackgroundThe UAE enacted its Corporate Tax Law (the “CTL”) in December 2022 (Federal Decree-Law No. (47) of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses). The CTL came into force on 1 June 2023. The main corporate tax rate of 9% applies on income exceeding AED 375,000 (roughly USD 102,000). The CLT provides that the rate of corporate tax which applies to “Qualifying Free Zone Persons” (“QFZP”) is 0% with respect to qualifying income (“Qualifying Income”) and 9% on non-qualifying revenue (“Non-Qualifying Revenue”).After much anticipation,...

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  05.06.2023

  United Kingdom

  North Sea Trans­ition Au­thor­ity ex­er­cises re­voc­a­tion powers in re­la­tion to off­shore li­cences

  Since its inception the NSTA has highlighted the importance of “right assets, right hands” i.e. of ensuring that offshore petroleum licences are held by the right companies to ensure their development, production and management in compliance with good practice and the “MERUK” (maximising economic recovery) regulatory regime. In the last year we have seen the NSTA increase its focus on the corporate governance of the companies it regulates, and on ensuring compliance with licence terms and timeframes.  It has introduced new requirements in the NSTA Strategy and in its...

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