2022 has certainly been a year of two halves for our banking and finance practice.
Despite financial challenges in the economy including, inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain issues, we had a very strong year up until September. Our deal volumes were up 10% year on year at that point. The rest of 2022 was certainly more turbulent and we undoubtedly saw a sudden hit to confidence in the transactional market due to the sudden rise in interest rates and political uncertainty following the mini-budget.
But there are some real positives on the horizon for 2023. There continues to be no lack of liquidity particularly with debt funds and alternative debt providers having good appetite to fund transactions and we expect asset-based lending to pick up. We are also seeing strong demand to fund businesses in key sectors (including tech, wealth management, infra and health) and we are seeing a significant amount of green finance now available on attractive terms. We also sense that a degree of 2023 deal activity will be driven by the possibility/probability that Capital Gains Tax could increase after the next general election.
Despite the challenging economic backdrop, we have maintained a good pipeline throughout 2022 and are witnessing early signs that the economy is stabilising. Deals certainly moved with slower momentum leading up to the year-end but we do now see the deal market starting to pick up again and we expect it to continue to recover as we head into 2023.
Below you can download brief details of a few recent deals we’ve been involved with nationally, together with some more North West focussed transactions.
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In this session, we examined the legal framework around grant funded collaborations and discussed the key risks to be aware of, including IP ownership and compliance with grant terms.
The outcome of the Employment Tribunal claim brought by Gulnaz Raja against Starling Bank Limited (1) (Starling), and Matthew Newman (2) was reported last month.
Bishopsgate Corporate Finance and law firm Browne Jacobson have jointly advised on the acquisition of award-winning tech solutions business, Custard Technical Services by US managers services and cyber security provider, Thrive.
This article is the second in a series to help firms take a practical approach to complying with the ‘cross-cutting rules’ within the new ‘Consumer Duty’ (CD) framework. The article summarises what it seems the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking to achieve from the applicable rules (section 2 below) and potential complications arising from legal considerations (section 3).
Claims arising from interest-only mortgages have been farmed in volume. Many such claims to date have sought to drive a narrative that interest-only mortgages are an inherently toxic product and brokers were negligent simply for suggesting them. Taylor is a helpful recalibration, focussing instead on what the monies raised by the mortgage product were being used for and whether the client understood the inherent risks.
Law firm Browne Jacobson has appointed former Vice President and Chief Planning Officer (CPO) of Aston Martin Lagonda, Nikki Rimmington as its first Non-Executive Director (NED) of its Manufacturing & Industrials sector strategy board.
In a judgment handed down yesterday the Supreme Court has affirmed that a so called “creditor duty” exists for directors such that in some circumstances company directors are required to act in accordance with, or to consider the interests of creditors. Those circumstances potentially arise when a company is insolvent or where there is a “probability” of an insolvency. We explore below the “trigger” for such a test to apply and its implications.
Created at the end of the Brexit transition period, Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law that consists of EU-derived legislation retained in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement as parliament promised to deal with retained EU law through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the “Bill”).
Browne Jacobson’s corporate technology dealmakers have advised Agilico, a workplace technology business, on its acquisition of Capital Document Solutions Limited for an undisclosed amount.
Browne Jacobson’s lawyers have advised Suez SA and its shareholders on its acquisition of its former UK waste management business – Suez R&R UK - from French headquartered business Veolia for an enterprise value of £2 billion.
The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the BTI v Sequana appeal and reviewed the existence, content and engagement of the so-called ‘creditor duty’; being the point at which the interest of creditors is said to intrude upon the decision-making of directors of companies in financial distress.
This article is the first in a series aimed to help firms get to grips on a practical basis with the ‘cross-cutting rules’ within the new ‘Consumer Duty’ framework.
The Chancellor’s recent mini-budget provided a significant announcement for business as it was confirmed that the off-payroll working rules (known as “IR35”) put in place for public and private sector businesses from 2017 and 2021 will be scrapped from April 2023.
Browne Jacobson’s national private equity (PE) lawyers have advised leading mid-market PE investment firm, Palatine Private Equity (Palatine) on its exit from CTS Group, the fast-growing specialist in testing, inspection and geoengineering consulting services to the construction and infrastructure sectors.
Browne Jacobson’s corporate finance lawyers have advised leading mid-market private equity firm, LDC and management on the sale of specialist managed IT services provider, Littlefish to Bowmark Capital.
