In late June 2020, the UK’s Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (the Act) became law. While the Act was passed in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its economic ramifications, it represents a significant legislative step forward in promoting the “rescue culture” in respect of financially distressed business enterprises, a policy objective that goes beyond COVID-19. This GT Alert relates, in the main, to the concept of the moratorium (the Moratorium), which is…

The UK is nearing the end of its Brexit transition period (the Transition Period), which expires Dec. 31, 2020. Although the UK has not been a party to the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement since the passage of Brexit, it has been treated as an EEA member during the Transition Period. Because of this status, data has continued to flow freely between the EU and UK during this time. However, the UK’s treatment as a…

Welcome to Greenberg Traurig’s Quarterly Update for Overseas Investors, prepared by the firm’s London Real Estate Practice. This newsletter reviews a range of legal and practice developments that may directly affect overseas investors in the UK real estate sector. Our Autumn 2020 issue covers Company Voluntary Arrangements; COVID-19; Insurance; Green Financing & Retrofitting; Lease Code; Planning; and Transport. Click here to read the full GT Newsletter.…

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (CIGA) came into force on 26 June 2020, introducing a number of permanent and temporary changes to the UK’s insolvency and company laws (for further details, please refer to our GT Alert on CIGA). Certain of the temporary changes introduced by CIGA were due to expire on 30 September 2020. Some (but not all) of these temporary changes have now been extended pursuant to regulations (the Extension Regulations)…

Welcome to Greenberg Traurig’s Quarterly Update for Overseas Investors, prepared by the firm’s London Real Estate Practice. This newsletter reviews a range of legal and practice developments that may directly affect overseas investors in the UK real estate sector. In This Issue: Beneficial Ownership Register Commercial Leasing & the ‘New Normal’ COVID-19 Insolvency New UK Tax Landscape for International Investors Tax Treatment of Asset Holding Companies in Alternative Fund Structures Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)…

A comparison of the new Dutch Scheme and the new UK Restructuring Plan. The European restructuring landscape continues to evolve with the recent introduction of a new restructuring procedure (UK Restructuring Plan) into the United Kingdom’s restructuring tool kit. The UK Restructuring Plan was enacted as part of the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIG Act) which became effective on 26 June 2020; it is closely based on the UK scheme of arrangement procedure…

As of 20 July 2020, Phase 1 of the UK’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) is open for applications for grants, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The IETF, announced in the UK’s 2018 autumn budget, is designed to assist the transition of high energy use businesses into a lower carbon future economy. £289 million of the IETF’s total £315 million fund is available to businesses in England, Wales and…