Insights: May 2014

There are changes afoot to the UK gambling regime. We set out below a short summary of recent key changes. The Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 (Act) received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014, amending the Gambling Act 2005. Under the previous regulatory regime, remote gambling operators situated outside Great Britain were not regulated […]

Fladgate LLP acted for Premier African Minerals Limited (Premier), on the purchase of the entire share capital of Mandalore Development Limited (Mandalore) from TSX-V listed AgriMinco Corp (AgriMinco). Mandalore owns a 30% interest in the Danakil Potash project which includes a potentially significant potash deposit in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia. The consideration comprised the […]

In the 2013 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that from April 2015, Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will apply to gains made on disposals of residential property in the UK by non UK residents as well as UK residents. The government has since issued a consultation on the subject in which it welcomes views on how […]

Updates for construction professionals.

For many would-be inheritors, matters of inheritance matter! Will Aid’s 2012 survey revealed that: 60% of 18-24 year olds would use an inheritance to buy a home; 48% of 35-44 year olds would repay their mortgage; and 40% of 45-54 year olds would use an inheritance to provide a pension. The reliance upon inheritances is […]

As a result of changes that have occurred in the financial markets over recent years, it was felt the current European Market Abuse Directive (MAD) was not adequate to deal with the evolution in trading platforms. The ever growing financial market quickly outpaced MAD, which showed much promise but little effect. As an example, the […]

Earlier this year, my firm co-hosted a seminar with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, on the resolution of art disputes. I shared the platform with Henry Legge QC, a leading art barrister, and Sarah Charles of Christie’s. It was a great success and there was clearly a lot of interest in the mediation of art […]

On 16 April 2014, the Privy Council dismissed the appeal of Surinam Shipping Company against the Mauritius Court of Appeal’s judgment in favour of Den Danske Bank A/S and Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited (MCB). The case concerned whether MCB had undertaken liability for payment of a letter of credit or was merely an advising bank. […]

Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I can resist everything except temptation”. Not a direct quote from Mr Wilde on the importance of a signed construction contract, but it does perhaps explain the continued trend for developers and their contractors to start work quickly under the vagaries of a letter of intent (despite previous salutary tales(1)). A […]

This article deals with the rights of a commercial agent on termination of his or her agency under English law and considers the following issues: the definition of a commercial agent under English law; and the four rights of an agent on termination. These rights are: entitlement to unpaid commission; entitlement to minimum notice; entitlement […]

Fladgate LLP has advised the managers/shareholders of ISN Solutions Limited (ISN) on the sale of ISN to a new company backed and funded by private equity house Maven Capital for £6.1m. ISN is one of the UK’s leading specialist IT and communications consultancies working in the oil and gas sector. Two of the three founder […]

Back in 2009 landlords secured what they thought at the time was a victory over administrators. They argued, in court, that when a company went into administration, the administrator, as an expense of the administration, should be liable for the whole of a quarter’s rent if the period of the administration straddled a quarter day. […]