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Briefing Notes
Disputes
UK Supreme Court reverses Court of Appeal on JCT contract termination rights, limiting contractors' ability to exit for trivial late payment
Employers under JCT contracts regain leverage in payment disputes — contractors can no longer weaponise trivial late payment as a termination trigger.
M&A
Aurelius Group eyes acquisition of Carrefour's Belgian retail unit in cross-border European carve-out
PE carve-outs from European retail multinationals generate multi-jurisdictional regulatory and TSA work regardless of deal size.
Banking & Finance
Barclays retreats from asset-based lending to smaller borrowers following losses on MFS and Tricolor collapses
Bank ABL retrenchment after lender collapses tightens credit supply for mid-market borrowers precisely when private credit is also under redemption pressure.
Energy & Tech
European Commission approves €5 billion Danish state aid scheme for Hesselø and North Sea I Mid offshore wind farms under Clean Industrial Deal objectives
A €5 billion Commission wind approval triggers project finance, state aid compliance, and grid contracting work across the entire supply chain simultaneously.
Regulation
PRA fines Bank of London Group and Oplyse £2 million for misleading the regulator on capital positions and failing to act with integrity
A PRA integrity finding against a challenger bank's capital reporting puts SM&CR personal accountability for senior managers directly in play.
International
European Commission proposes 'EU Inc.' single incorporation framework allowing companies to register once across all 27 member states, with lawyers predicting a major advisory uplift
A single EU incorporation form would trigger the largest corporate restructuring advisory cycle in Europe since the introduction of the SE statute.
Capital Markets
LG Energy Solution launches $1.6 billion four-tranche dollar bond sale as orders top $3 billion despite volatile markets
A $3 billion order book on investment-grade Asian credit shows demand bifurcation: strong for quality, absent for leveraged names.
AI & Law
FCA overhauls payments regulatory framework for 2026, formalising stablecoin and open banking priorities while scrapping 40 portfolio letters in favour of single annual guidance
Scrapping 40 portfolio letters for one annual priorities document shifts compliance burden from reactive reading to proactive self-assessment — creating more, not less, legal advisory work.