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Briefing Notes
Disputes
High Court rules Cambridgeshire County Council's CQC rating condition in £928m homecare framework procurement is contested under the Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023's strict time limits may become the most litigated provision in public contracting disputes.
Regulation
EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement published on 19 October 2026, entering force on 1 December and formalising CMA-EC joint enforcement coordination
Formalised CMA-EC coordination means parallel antitrust investigations just got significantly harder to manage in isolation.
Banking & Finance
Bank of England expected to raise UK base rate from 3.75% to 4% at November meeting, its first hike in over three years, as inflation hits 3.5%
Every 25bp hike tightens covenant headroom on floating-rate leveraged loans, pushing portfolio company stress into the open.
Regulation
CMA Panel Composition Overhauled as Cyrus Mehta Becomes Competition Panel Chair and 12 New Members Join
Panel composition shapes CMA outcomes, this refresh matters for every live Phase 2 case.
M&A
USOPC engages Raine Group to explore potential sale of a stake in Team USA's commercial rights ahead of LA 2028 Olympics
Olympic commercial rights deals test whether private capital can enter not-for-profit sports governance without compromising its integrity.
International
UK lawyers log over 645,000 hours of pro bono work in 2025 as demand for free legal help surges 35%, with access to justice gaps widening
Rising pro bono demand measures the gap in access to justice that legal aid reform has left behind.
Energy & Tech
HM Treasury and Bank of England Greenlight DIGIT Pilot: Six Banks Named as Lead Managers for UK's First Digitally Native Government Bond
DIGIT turns sovereign debt digitalisation from ambition into live infrastructure.