A Certified B Corporation is the only certification, obtained via the non-profit organisation B Lab, which verifies a company’s success in achieving the ‘highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose’. To achieve this certification, businesses must go beyond decision making that centres around attaining […]

On 20 May 2020, the Government introduced the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (Bill) in Parliament, which, through the amendment of certain insolvency and company laws, will implement measures to support businesses through the challenges that COVID-19 has inflicted. The Bill is expected to go through an expedited parliamentary process and become law in the […]

Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) share schemes are tax-advantageous schemes used by qualifying companies to incentivise and retain key employees. As Covid-19 and future economic uncertainty result in a significant drop in turnover for many businesses, companies will continue to face difficult decisions around retaining staff. Is this the right time to consider implementing an EMI […]

Company directors will have taken some comfort from the recent Government announcement that wrongful trading provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) will be relaxed. However, the details of exactly how the laws will be relaxed are not yet clear, and directors still need to be mindful of their duties under the Companies Act […]

The ramifications of Coronavirus on UK businesses will be wide ranging and the next few months will be turbulent. Almost all businesses, big or small, will feel the impact however those that rely heavily on footfall traffic, cross-border supply chains and face-to-face customer interaction could face serious financial disruption. Whilst there is a lot of […]

Five colleagues from Blacks Solicitors have taken up the Movember challenge, growing their moustaches to raise money for men’s health. Stepping up to the mark are Dave Paterson, Marc Warren, Alex Morris, Josh Walker and Benjamin Aris from Blacks’ Corporate, Employment and Commercial Property teams. The challenge The movement aims to raise awareness and funding […]

I recently took part in the Wharefedale Ton, the 100 mile Charity Bike Ride. Whilst the entry fee goes to supporting Marie Curie, riders can also choose to raise money for a charity of their choice. I decided to raise money for Blacks’ Charity of the Year, Leeds Mind, which helps raise awareness of mental […]

Richer Sounds (a hi-fi, home cinema, and television specialist) has become one of the latest British companies – including Leeds-based door manufacturer Union Industries – to use an Employee-Ownership Trust (EOT) to give its employees a stake in the company. The owner and founder of the retailer, Julian Richer, used an EOT to transfer a […]

GDPR and the Data Protection Act came into force in May 2018.  There was some sense of foreboding as we built up to the introduction, there was no transition period just a new and extensive set of rules and regulations to replace and update the Data Protection Act 1998.  The legislation is not a one […]

A recent case (Thirunavukkrasu v Brar and another [2018] EWHC 2461 (Ch)) has confirmed what property litigators have long suspected – that is, if a commercial landlord exercises the “CRAR” procedure (see below for further detail), and then attempts to forfeit the lease for the same arrears, the forfeiture will be unlawful, the lease will […]

The Marriott Hotel chain announced on Friday 30 November 2018 that information contained in its Starwood brands guest reservation database was compromised. Unauthorised access occurred in connection with reservations at Starwood properties on or before 10 September 2018, potentially dating back to 2014. Marriott received an alert from a security tool on 8 September 2018 […]

Another day, another article on Brexit. But this one is a little bit different. It concerns a dispute between the Canary Wharf Group, a property development, investment and management company, and its tenant, the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”). The EMA is, in simple terms, attempting to get out of the remaining term of its 25 […]