Osborne Clarke's best legal reads of the week - September 14 -18
Published on 18th Sep 2015
What are the top reads of the week around the web written by Osborne Clarke people? Which posts have been shared the most via social?
Here’s the best legal reads of the week…
Since the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) came into force in February, the Government has now published drafts of two further sets of regulations, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (UCR 2016) and Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (CCR 2016), which will implement the respective EU Directives for each regime. We anticipate these changes coming into force in early 2016, read about the 2 sets of regulations here.
With continued pressure on global equity markets and interest rates remaining at rock bottom, the market for alternative investments is booming. As a consequence, investment fraud is also on the rise. In an attempt to provide an air of legitimacy, fraudulent operations, offering investments in areas such as art, fine wine and rare coins, are increasingly being run from prestigious addresses within the City of London. These schemes present a significant risk to landlords, investors and managers of the properties from which they operate. Read the full update here.
This week, we’ve launched the Autumn 2015 edition of Osborne Clarke’s quarterly trustee update. A series of blogs summarising the latest pensions developments of interest to trustees and all those involved with the pensions industry. This edition includes details of pensions announcements in the Summer Budget, a consultation on pension transfers and early exit charges and several developments that may require action, amongst other issues. Read the full update here.
When a landlord discovers that its tenant has deliberately breached its lease covenants, it may consider that it has no option but to forfeit the lease. Given the draconian nature of the remedy, forfeiture is often contested by the tenant applying to the court for relief from forfeiture. A recent case has clarified how the court should balance the interests of both parties in seeking a fair outcome for all concerned. Read about the full decision here.
On 27 August 2015, the German Competition Authority, the Bundeskartellamt, found sports-shoe maker Asics’ online distribution practices to infringe German and European competition laws by hindering online trade. Read the full blog post and what it means for businesses here.
This summer, OC released the first in a series of white papers on smart cities, “Smart cities in Europe: Financing the commercialisation of smart city technology”. We, in collaboration with VB Research, interviewed smart cities champions and experts, including Peter Madden, CEO at Future Cities Catapult. Read the interview here.
