Travers Smith

We are delighted to welcome Ryan Ayrton as an infrastructure debt partner in the Finance team, further strengthening our cross-practice Infrastructure Sector group, and we very much look forward to working with him. Read our press release: https://lnkd.in/g7UCBJGd

The UK Government has confirmed that it has no immediate plans to reverse the impact of the decision of the Supreme Court in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc) v The Competition Appeal Tribunal and Others [2023] UKSC 28 (https://lnkd.in/erwb55PA).    The effect of that decision – in which Travers Smith acted for the successful appellants – was to confirm the unenforceability of most third-party litigation funding agreements in the UK, which has had significant implications for the litigation funding industry. The previous Conservative Government had tabled legislation (in the form of the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill) to resolve the issue, but this failed to pass prior to the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the general election in July 2024.    The UK Government has now indicated that it will not seek to re-introduce that legislation in the short term. Instead, it will await the outcome of a review by the Civil Justice Council ("CJC") of the current regulatory landscape for litigation funding. The CJC is expected to deliver its interim report in summer 2024, and a final report by summer 2025.     #LitigationFunding #Paccar #ClassActions

Last week members from some of our Business Services teams took part in a volunteering session at the new warehouse space of our major charity partner, Little Village. Little Village run London's biggest baby bank network. Head of People Development Rachel Wevill said: "It was inspiring to understand the scale of the charity's operation: an entire warehouse packed with baby items from nappies to cots, sleepsuits to prams – and touching to experience the quality control over every item that's passed on. The team at Little Village take such care over their work and clearly think deeply about the communities they support. Being able to contribute in some small way – assessing and sorting clothing or scrubbing and polishing buggies – was a privilege, and great to spend time with colleagues in such a different setting too."  Thanks to all those at the firm who took part! This session complements the firm's extensive charitable giving programme and our wider CSR programmes. You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/e2cSaJZY

We are delighted to have advised CVC DIF, the infrastructure strategy of leading global private markets manager CVC, on the acquisition of medneo UK, a leading mobile diagnostic imaging company specialising in MRI and CT services. Our team on this transaction was led by Infrastructure and Corporate M&A Partner Jonathan Walters, supported by Partner Hugh Hutchison, and also included Senior Associate Fabian McNeilly and Associate Marie Catherine Morazzani. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e5D6Zi4R

Last week, the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) published new draft merger control guidance for consultation, updated to reflect how the CMA's new powers under the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 (DMCCA). The guidance confirms how the CMA can use the new incoming jurisdictional tests to cast a wide net and catch a broad range of deals. But the guidance also provides for greater procedural flexibility during the CMA's reviews – including specifically for private equity firms. See below for some initial takeaways, prior to the guidance being finalised. #CMA #DMCCA #MergerControl

Travers Smith LLP have advised Carlyle on the launch of Carlyle AlpInvest Private Markets SICAV-UCI Part II.   The strategy aims to provide immediate, diversified, and continuous access to global private equity buyout markets by strategically allocating primarily across AlpInvest’s secondary and co-Investment fund opportunities, as well as offering exposure to primary fund investments.   The retailisation of private capital is being widely spoken about in the market and the Travers Smith Asset Management team is at the forefront of advising on this new range of alternative asset investment structures. The Funds team was led by William Normand, with support from Senior Associate Blanche Dsouza and Funds Associates Katie Bench and Peter Eaton. Support was also provided by Financial Services & Markets Partner Henriika Hara, Tax Partner Emily Clark and Tax Senior Associates Sarah Roman and Aimee Hutchinson.

" Nest 'invests with impact' " – Diandra Soobiah, Director of Responsible Investment, discusses how Nest applies its approach to private markets.   In the fourth episode of our Sustainability Insights … in conversation series, Simon Witney speaks to Diandra Soobiah, Director of Responsible Investment at Nest, the National Employment Savings Trust. Their discussion explores Nest's significant commitments to the private markets and, with 15% of Nest's £42 billion AUM allocated to private markets, Diandra explains what more she wants to see from the sector. Listen on our website: https://lnkd.in/eCnTpW_5

Following the recent reduction in the Bank of England base rate, the bonus rate for SAYE 5-year savings contracts and the early leaver interest rate will fall for invitations issued on or after 16 August 2024. This change takes place under the automatic mechanism for calculating bonus and interest rates which was introduced last year. The bonus rate for a 5-year savings contract will fall from 3.2 times to 3 times monthly savings and the interest rate payable to early leavers will fall from 1.42% to 1.33%. The bonus rate for 3-year savings contracts remains unchanged at 1.1 times monthly savings. The HMRC website setting out the rates can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eH5Z_Vd7

We have advised The Nutriment Company, a leading provider of premium natural pet food, on the acquisition of Natural Instinct. The Travers Smith team was led by Private Equity & Financial Sponsors Partner Tom Hartwright with support from Associate Rebecca Denton and Trainee Daisy R.. Specialist Tax advice was provided by Partner and Head of Tax Russell Warren. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e-vqe5cq

Competition regulators across the globe have been investing significantly in building their understanding of AI and the potential competition law impacts of its development and use. In this briefing, our competition team looks at the ways in which those regulators are seeking to tackle the key issues arising from AI through a competition law lens. Read the full briefing on our website: https://lnkd.in/eBANp9d2 #Competition #ArtificialIntelligence #AI