With Labour anticipated to announce an increase in capital gains tax (CGT) or change the relief’s that are available in relation to CGT in the Autumn Budget on 30th October, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) companies could face significant consequences. Organisations in this sector which are often reliant on external investment to fuel innovation, may experience shifts in investor behaviour with investors becoming far more reluctant to make high risk investments, resulting in new challenges to securing crucial funding.
In Providence Building Services Ltd v Hexagon Housing Association Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 962, the Court of Appeal considered whether the Contractor was entitled to terminate its employment under Clause 8.9.4 of the JCT Design and Build Contract (2016 Edition).
The use of generative AI is on the rise in businesses across the world. However, in a PWC Trust Survey which asked 500 executives how they prioritised major risks that could erode trust in their company, the threats associated with AI fell well below other cyber-related ones like a data breach or a ransomware attack, with the results suggesting that many business leaders may not yet have grasped the challenges that generative AI might pose. Such risks include at the very least content reproduced illegally from copyrighted material, the inadvertent sharing of intellectual property, inaccurate output, or deepfakes intended to spread misinformation
The First Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session has issued welcome guidance on the assessment of “additional charges” payable on solicitors’ fees in judicial accounts. This is a percentage uplift on solicitors’ fees which is allowed where the court is satisfied that it is justified under one or more of the seven heads provided for in the Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rule 2019, para 5.2. We have seen an upwards trend in recent months in the frequency of motions seeking additional charges, and in the amount of uplift being sought.
On 2 October 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a significant fine. In this article, we explain the circumstances leading to the fine and our four key takeaways.
