The market for multi-purpose investment vehicles in the Netherlands is well established and developed. This article sets out the key regulatory and civil law drivers in structuring multi-purpose investment vehicles.

Continue reading “Multi-purpose investment companies”

The asset value of a strong brand is now widely recognised, not just by brand owners but by investors. Over the past decade, the top 100 brands, as evaluated by the world’s largest brand consultancy Interbrand, have, year on year, shown a marked lead in financial performance over both the MSCI world index and S&P 500. Strong brands give better returns over time with less volatility and less risk. Luxury brands in particular, which reinvest a far greater proportion of their revenues in creating and maintaining the brand experience, have largely remained buoyant or, in some cases, had gleaming upturns during the global economic crisis. The strongest brands have maintained momentum in the traditional markets of US and Europe, while attracting new revenue in the burgeoning markets of China, India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East. Continue reading “Protecting brand identity in the digital media age”

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal (on 28 July 2011) in the case of Philip Towers v Premier Waste Management Ltd[2011] sends out a strong message to company directors that the courts will strictly enforce their fiduciary duties. In this case, the defendant director was required to account for undisclosed personal benefits, which he had received from one of the claimant company’s customers. The director sought to defend the claim on the basis that the breach was a minor one or that the relevant company had not actually suffered any loss. However, the Court of Appeal held that these considerations were not relevant. Continue reading “Breach of fiduciary duties: director digs hole for himself”

In New Cap Reinsurance Corporation Ltd (in liquidiation) & anor v A E Grant & ors as members of Lloyd’s Syndicate 991 for the 1997 Year of Account & anor [2011], on 9 August 2011, the Court of Appeal opened up further routes for the enforcement of judgments made in foreign insolvency proceedings in England and Wales. This decision follows on from the judgment in Rubin & anor v Eurofinance SA & ors [2010], given on 30 July 2010. An appeal to the Supreme Court in Rubin is due in March 2012. It is possible that an appeal maybe launched in New Cap. Continue reading “The long arm of insolvency law”

Whether buying or selling a technology company, there are a number of tax traps that may arise. Below, we discuss some of the tax traps that we have come across in recent transactions. Continue reading “Tax traps on technology transactions”

The Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Hague Convention) establishes methods of co-operation for the taking of evidence abroad in civil or commercial matters. The Hague Convention was concluded on 18 March 1970, and came into force on 7 October 1972. India ratified the Hague Convention on 7 February 2007. Continue reading “The Hague Evidence Convention: applicability in the Indian legal system”

When an EU citizen is issued with a registration certificate valid for five years, or a family member is issued with a residence card also valid for five years, they will not automatically have acquired a right of permanent residence under Article 16 Directive 2004/38/EC at the end of that period. In Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Maria Dias [2009], which was referred by the Court of Appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Union (formerly the European Court of Justice) has confirmed that the person must have fulfilled the underlying conditions of their residence during those five years. Thus, an EU citizen must have been labour employed/self employed or self sufficient (ie a qualified person) for five years. The five years do not have to be one continuous period. The continuity can be broken by gaps in employment of up to two years, and the qualifying periods can be aggregated in order to reach the five-year threshold. Continue reading “Recent developments: EU law”

The shortage occupation list has been amended to remove some specialist jobs that are no longer considered to be under resourced within the resident labour market.

The ‘shortage occupation’ is part of the Tier 2 immigration route under the points-based system. The government has recently accepted recommendations from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) that will see the number of jobs covered by the list drop by 40,000. This will bring the total down from 230,000 to 190,000. The MAC recommended the changes where evidence from a range of industries and sectors showed resident workers are available to fill the vacancies. Continue reading “Changes to shortage occupation list”

For almost 40 years now, the Health and Safety at Work etc Act (HSWA) 1974 has been the bedrock of workplace health and safety law in the UK. Continue reading “The future is bright, the future is Tangerine”

On 28 September 2011, the European Commission published a draft directive proposing the introduction of a financial transaction tax (FTT) across all of the member states of the European Union. In essence, the FTT would operate to tax all transactions in ‘financial instruments’ to which a ‘financial institution’ is party, provided at least one party to the transaction is established in the EU. Continue reading “The financial transaction tax”

The government’s introduction of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) for small-scale renewables in April 2010 has led to frenzied activity in the relatively new sector of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. Since April 2010, many start-up companies have emerged, and there has been a rush to install solar panels to take advantage of tariffs available. However, it has not all been smooth sailing for the solar sector. Continue reading “Rooftop solar PV: issues to consider”