Linklaters and DWF have led in the £1.2bn sale of Goldman Sachs’ new City headquarters, in the biggest deal announced for a London office building this year. The magic circle firm’s real estate partners Patrick Plant, Simon Price and corporate real estate partner Tom Watkins led for Goldman Sachs Group, which has sold its new, unfinished European headquarters […]
Linklaters and Latham & Watkins have spearheaded the sale of the iconic Grosvenor House hotel to a Qatari-state backed company, as the wealthy Gulf state continues its splurge on the capital’s trophy assets. The magic circle firm advised Katara Hospitality, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), led by real estate partner Simon Price, banking partner Mark O’Neill, corporate […]
Ashurst has nabbed White & Case partner Matthew Wood for its Africa-specific project finance practice, ending his 16-year stint at the US firm. Wood has been drafted in by Ashurst to lead the firm’s operations in the region and will relocate from the UAE to the London office. He has spent his entire career at White & […]
Hogan Lovells is introducing a new construction practice to its Birmingham base, having trebled its lawyer headcount since launching in the city four years ago. The new construction practice has been set up through the hire of construction associate Rebecca Storer, who joins on Monday 5 November. Storer previously spent four years as an associate […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has won the top advisory role on the sale of the House of Commons’ administrative building to Swiss investment foundation AFIAA. Real estate partner Mark Wheelhouse advised German real estate investment company IS Bayernfonds in the sale of the historic West End office building, alongside associate Christine Partridge. Located in London’s Victoria sub-market, the 14 […]
On a clear, bright morning at the end of September, 11 GCs gathered at the South Place Hotel near Liverpool Street to share how they were overcoming issues surrounding legal self-service and assembly; the “nuts and bolts” of running a clean and slick legal operation. How does one leverage technology to deal with the business-as-usual […]
From Guernsey to Gibraltar via the Cayman Islands, litigation is in plentiful supply, with trusts and insolvency cases spearheading growth, our new data reveals
EY’s acquisition of Riverview has the potential to create a true disruptor, but will the initiative be handcuffed by audit?
As austerity cuts and reforms continue to take chunks out of legal funding, ever-advancing technology provides the opportunity to plug the shortfalls
What3words’ general counsel and coding geek Rachael Carolan on working for one of the newest and most promising tech start-ups on the market
Partners at DLA Piper have three days left to put their names forward to run against Simon Levine in the managing partner elections.
$30bn in total disputes income among the Global Litigation Top 50 shows this is still a rich seam to mine. Here, we dig into the strategies driving the leading firms
The news that Ince & Co is in merger talks has been trailed for months, but most of the City chatter linked it to other EC3 firms.
Now Gordon Dadds is in the frame, the firm’s New Law mindset could be exactly what Ince needs.
Over the weekend, nearly two years of tussling for UK media giant Sky came to an end when Comcast’s £30bn bid trumped 21st Century Fox.
But while magic circle firms maintain only they can act on big-ticket M&A, the variety of advisers on call was striking. Here’s what we learned.
By Maria Connolly Purely sporting or recreational rights over land are capable of being easements, the Supreme Court has confirmed. In a judgment handed down today the Court held that, so long as such rights satisfy the four well-established characteristics of easements, there is no reason why they should not be easements (Regency Villas Title […]
By Katherine Evans In March we reported on the government’s consultation on the reform of the current system of developer contributions. The government’s response to the consultation, released at the end of October, confirms that change is on the horizon. The key themes of the consultation were centred around a desire to make the system simpler and more […]
By Adrian Mansbridge Following Dame Hackitt’s Review of the Building Regulations and Fire Safety the government announced that it would consult on banning flammable cladding. The consultation closed on 14 August 2018 and the housing secretary announced at the Conservative Party Conference that the ban would be brought forward.
Now is the time to invest in companies that make small furniture! The 2 1 City of Westminster in the City Plan 2019- 2040 has suggested that new developments and conversions will (unless necessary to protect a heritage asset) not be allowed to provide units of greater than 150 sq m (1,615 sq ft) to […]
By Ralph Hindle The construction industry has been given another judgment on adjudication when there is no pay less notice. The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in S&T (UK) Limited v Grove Developments Limited [2018] EWHC 123 (TCC), which is the appeal of Mr Justice Coulson’s much remarked upon decision in the High Court.
By Sarah Moran When you buy a second-hand car from a dealership your rights as a consumer are covered under the Consumer Rights Act. The Consumer Rights Act means that as a buyer the goods you are buying should be satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. In the TV show The Sheriffs are Coming […]
By Mila Plasmans, Timo Huisman In the current market, sustainability requirements are indispensable and the circular economy plays an increasingly important role. In view of this, deviations from the UAV 2012 will undoubtedly arise in contract contracts in the short term, for example when it comes to §§ 19 and 21 UAV 2012.
By Dominic Cole The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have opened a consultation into the ability for holiday lets to register for business rates, rather than Council Tax which has allowed over 45,000 properties to qualify for small business rate relief and therefore escape a charge completely. Properties are valued for business rates when […]
By Maria Connolly On 5 November 2018, the government released it response to the consultation on proposals to amend The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property)(England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (widely known as the MEES Regulations). What is the effect of the consultation response? The consultation had proposed that landlords of domestic properties would be required to spend […]
By Aimee Stevens Research produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that house prices in England have risen by over 173% in the last two decades. With that comes the frightening statistic that 40% of young adults (those aged between 25 – 34) cannot afford to buy the cheapest homes in their area. The […]
By Aidan Grant Although the increase in probate fees to £6,000 for those estates worth more than £2,000,000 will understandably grab the headlines, the underlying policy contains more detail which should not be ignored. Firstly it is worth remembering that this highest band is a significant reduction on the £20,000 band proposed in 2017. Secondly […]
In the case of North Midland Building Ltd v Cyden Homes Ltd, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that a bespoke extension of time clause could be used to prevent entitlement to an extension of time in the event of concurrent delay…
