The last month has seen two prominent North West brands, Pets at Home and Franchise Brands, announcing share buy-back programmes (see references below).
There are many benefits in undertaking this activity, including returning value to shareholders or providing an exit route. We do urge caution as, whilst the law and procedure for carrying out a share buyback is quite clear and straightforward, we have dealt with a number of instances where the validity of a share buyback has been questioned and further action required to be taken in order to rectify or ratify the validity of a buyback transaction.
This is our latest update as we draw near to the introduction of a “fixed costs” regime for most civil court disputes (including those involving businesses), where the amount at stake is over £10,000 up to £100,000.
A Manchester law firm made a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) in respect of the Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLS), and the number of directors that were disqualified where the company had taken out a BBLS facility.
The response from the Insolvency Service published on 18 January 2023 provides insight into the largescale fraud and misuse of the scheme, since its inception in March 2020 following the Covid-19 pandemic, and the measures taken to clamp down on this abuse of the scheme. It found that the number of director disqualifications has more than doubled in just a year.
Rachael joined Bermans in May 2023 as a Solicitor in our Asset Based Lending team in Manchester.
Rachael graduated with a First Class Law Degree from Sheffield Hallam University in 2015. Following this, she attended BPP Law School, where she obtained a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course. She then qualified as a Solicitor in 2020.
She is experienced in real estate finance, general corporate finance, invoice finance and asset-based lending.
Outside of work, Rachael enjoys travelling, going on walks in the Lake District and spending time with friends.
We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Property Finance Paralegal to join our Property and Construction team. The existing team is friendly, hard-working and welcoming and we are seeking a like-minded individual.
Start date: Immediate
Location: Liverpool city-centre office
Job Type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time
Key duties:
Responsibility for progressing a caseload from start to finish, under supervision and with training from the fee earners.
Making and receiving calls to clients and third parties involved in the transaction.
Responding promptly to requests for updates and information from clients, agents, brokers and introducers.
Preparing banking security documentation for review by the supervising fee earner.
Preparing and / or reviewing contract packs and raising enquiries based on their contents.
Ordering pre-contract and pre-completion searches and reviewing the results.
Drafting and submitting applications to the Land Registry, Companies House and search portals.
Preparing files for completion, including the preparation of completion statements.
Generally supporting and assisting a busy team.
Dealing with files at completion and the post-completion stage.
Skills and experience required:
Proficient use of the Land Registry and Companies House portals.
At least 6 months’ previous experience in property / property finance work.
Demonstrable experience in working diligently towards client deadlines.
Excellent organisation, time-management and communication skills.
A personable and hard-working nature.
3 A Levels in C grade or above (or equivalent).
Salary and benefits:
Salary will be dependent on experience, please contact us for details.
Our Asset Based Lending team lead by Alex Chapman and David Gledhill is delighted to have been ranked #1 lawyers in the Business Money Receivables survey.
Bermans team has consistently ranked #1 since 2018 in the Business Money poll and we are grateful to all our clients and contacts who responded to the poll and valued us so highly.
There are a few very few cases in the law reports dealing specifically with factoring or invoice discounting, so we always pay particular attention to those that are reported, and in this respect it is worth reflecting upon the recent decision of the High Court in Elevar Finance SPV Photon LLC v Mr Sabesan Somasundaram [2023] EWHC 151(Ch).
The Industry Working Group on Electronic Execution of Documents set up by the Government in response to the 2019 Law Commission Report has published its final report.
There has been understandable focus recently on the question of virtual witnessing of documents such as Deeds of Guarantee which require the presence of a witness, a topic dealt with in our last Briefing and to which we will return later in this one. It is important however to remember that the vast majority of Deeds are still executed by wet signatures and in this regard there has been an important recent decision of the High court favourable to financiers.
Last week, the UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, announced a ban on certain professional and PR services exports from the UK to Russia. The banned services include management consulting, public relations and accounting. The Foreign Secretary commented that the ban will help to ensure that Putin fails in Ukraine, by cutting off service exports that are fundamental to the Russian economy.
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