BHS Judgment #1 – Wrongful trading

In this podcast Robin Henry, Head of Dispute Resolution and Gavin Kramer, Senior Associate in our Corporate Recovery, Restructuring & Insolvency team discuss the recent judgment against the former directors of the BHS group of companies. In this, the first of two episodes on the judgment, they focus on the findings of wrongful trading and explain why the liquidators succeeded in this case when other claims of wrongful trading have not.

In this podcast Robin Henry, Head of Dispute Resolution and Gavin Kramer, Senior Associate in our Corporate Recovery, Restructuring & Insolvency team discuss the recent judgment against the former directors of the BHS group of companies. In this, the first of two episodes on the judgment, they focus on the findings of wrongful trading and explain why the liquidators succeeded in this case when other claims of wrongful trading have not.

When is a notice of claim under a share purchase agreement valid or not?  Does the recent Court of Appeal decision in Drax v Scottish Power distort the agreed allocation of risk between parties or does it inject a degree of commercial common sense to avoid the harshness of dismissing a valid claim on a technicality?Robin Henry, Head of Dispute Resolution at Collyer Bristow, and David Lascelles, Barrister at Littleton Chambers, discuss these questions and others relating to contractual notice of claim clauses in our latest edition of Spats in the City.Run time: 34 minutes

Head of Dispute Resolution Robin Henry and Associate Abbie Coleman discuss the FCA’s new rules and guidance on anti-greenwashing and sustainability, with the anti-greenwashing rule due to come into effect very shortly on 31st May 2024.Topics covered include:-What are the conditions for the anti-greenwashing rules to apply for a firm?-What are the four new investment labels that the FCA created?-What are consumer-facing disclosures and the requirements they bring?-What is the implementation timeline of these new rules?Run time: 12 minutes

Head of Dispute Resolution Robin Henry and Associate Jean-Martin Louw discuss the most prevalent class of fraud being perpetrated in the UK, authorised push payment (“APP”) fraud, and the options available for its victims. Topics covered include:-What is the Quincecare Duty?-What happened in the case of Philipp v Barclays?-What hope is there for victims of push payment fraud? Run time: 14 minutes

Head of Dispute Resolution Robin Henry and Associate Jean-Martin Louw discuss the topical subject of de-banking, or de-risking as banks call it. Topics covered include:-What is de-banking?-What effect can this have on bank customers? -What can you do if a bank decides to close your account?  Are there any limits to how banks can act? Run time: 12 minutes

Head of Dispute Resolution Robin Henry and Associate Tamara Davis discuss non-financial misconduct with a particular focus on how the FCA are developing their regulatory scope in this area. Topics covered include:-What is financial misconduct and how is it currently regulated by the FCA?-What has triggered the FCA's recent commitment to regulating non-financial misconduct ?-Should the FCA be dealing with non-financial misconduct?Run time: 17 minutes

From 31 July 2023, the new Consumer Duty applies to all new and existing regulated financial products or services that are open to sale and renewal. This will extend to closed products or services from 31 July 2024. Head of Dispute Resolution Robin Henry and Associate Abbie Coleman comment on the new Consumer Duty ‘package’ which includes a new FCA principle, cross-cutting rules and four specific outcomes.

Partner Howard Ricklow was interviewed by Clive Bull on LBC to discuss the Ed Sheeran/Marvin Gaye copyright dispute in the US.

 In this podcast, Janine Alexander a Partner from Collyer Bristow’s Banking & financial disputes team speaks to Ragavan Arunachalam, Partner and Head of Private equity about the issues surrounding litigation funding as an investment class for private investors. Areas of discussion include:Evaluating the strength of the claim and likely returnsTimeframesInvestment structure and funding agreements The importance of due diligence Risks and pitfallsATE insuranceSelling or exiting an investmentReputational risksPersonal exposure if things go wrong