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Regulatory update - March 2020

Published on 27 Mar 2020. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the March edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Publication

Regulatory update - February 2020

Published on 13 Feb 2020.

Welcome to the February edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Publication

Regulatory update - January 2020

Published on 15 Jan 2020.

Welcome to the January edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Publication

Regulatory update - December 2019

Published on 11 Dec 2019.

Welcome to the December edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Publication

Regulatory update - November 2019

Published on 11 Nov 2019.

Welcome to the November edition of our monthly Regulatory Update, which aims to pull together key developments from the past month across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Publication

Regulatory update - October 2019

Published on 10 Oct 2019. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

Welcome to the October edition of our monthly Regulatory update, which aims to pull together key developments from across the various UK regulators – and help you to navigate the regulatory maze.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Winter 2024

Published on 10 Dec 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Autumn 2024

Published on 17 Oct 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Summer 2024

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Spring 2024

Published on 17 Apr 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Blog

Ofcom's 'Roadmap to Regulation' underway with its consultation on illegal harms duties under the Online Safety Act

Published on 12 Jan 2024.

In November, Ofcom, as new online safety regulator, published the first of four major consultations under the Online Safety Act ("OSA"), which sets out its proposals for how "user-to-user" ("U2U") services (essentially any online website or app that allows users to interact with each other) and online search services (i.e. Google, Bing and similar) should approach their illegal content duties under the new legislation. The consultation provides guidance in a number of areas including governance, content moderation, reporting and complaints mechanisms, terms of service, supporting child users, and user empowerment.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Winter 2023

Published on 12 Dec 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Press and Media

The Times recognises RPC among Best Law Firms 2024

Published on 30 Oct 2023.

International law firm, RPC, has been recognised by The Times in its Best Law Firms 2024 report, an annual ranking of the top 250 law firms in England and Wales.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Autumn 2023

Published on 25 Oct 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Blog

The Online Safety Bill is set to become law

Published on 21 Sep 2023. By Rupert Cowper-Coles , Partner, Media and Nadia Tymkiw, Senior Associate

The Online Safety Bill will shortly become law in the UK as soon as it receives Royal Assent. The legislation will introduce a new regulatory regime for online platforms and search engines which target the UK, imposing wide-ranging obligations on in-scope services with serious consequences for non-compliance.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Summer 2023

Published on 07 Jul 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Spring 2023

Published on 31 Mar 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Snapshot

Snapshots Winter 2022

Published on 23 Dec 2022. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and David Cran, Partner, Head of IP & Tech

A roundup of key legal developments for the modern commercial lawyer.

Thinking - Publication

All is not (necessarily) lost: Crypto crime recovery

Published on 30 Jun 2022. By Adam Craggs, Partner

With over 2 million people in the UK now holding and using cryptocurrency, and the Chancellor announcing that a government backed non-fungible token ("NFT") is to be issued by the Royal Mint this summer, the market for crypto-assets is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years; so much so that legislation is planned to implement a new regulatory regime for the crypto market.

Thinking - Blog

Going Green - Draft Sustainability Guidance from the CMA

Published on 03 Apr 2023. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel and Sophie Tuson, Senior Associate, Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead

Following its public consultation, the CMA has published its advice to government on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals.

Thinking - Blog

Hype Economics: the haves and the have bots

Published on 01 Nov 2022.

With the most wanted items selling out in the blink of an eye, consumers are leveraging automation to get ahead. Is the use of bots creating more than a moral dilemma for retailers?

Thinking - Blog

Ten tips for retailers entering the metaverse

Published on 25 Oct 2022. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Hettie Homewood , Senior Associate

Once the province of online gaming and social media, the metaverse is the new hot topic in retail.

Thinking - Blog

Vertical Agreements: The New Reality

Published on 07 Oct 2022. By Melanie Musgrave, Of Counsel

For those operating in the retail sector (amongst others), 1st June 2022 saw changes to the UK and EU competition law rules and the "safe harbour" or exemption from the application of competition law for certain types of vertical agreements, i.e. for contractual parties operating at different levels of the supply chain.

Thinking - Blog

Low2NoBev Show - RPC takes front row seat as exclusive legal sponsor as the "No/Lo" alcohol drinks category soars

Published on 21 Sep 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate and Samuel Coppard, Senior Associate

Ahead of RPC acting as the exclusive legal sponsor of the Low2NoBev Show taking place at Olympia London later this month (26 – 28 September 2022), it is useful to understand the fundamental changes happening in this growing sector and the potential discussion points that may arise relating to the marketing of these products.

Thinking - Blog

What'SUP? Single-Use Plastics (SUP) are next target in UK government's war on plastic waste

Published on 17 Aug 2022. By Eleanor Harley , Senior Associate

It only takes a short walk along London's Regent's Canal to witness the sheer volume of littered single-use plastics (SUP).

Thinking - Blog

The Summer of ‘Pre-Love’: Has Fast Fashion been Dumped by the British Public?

Published on 20 Jul 2022. By Ela Broderick-Basar, Associate

ITV’s Love Island is back on our screens, officially marking the British summer. This year the show is dumping fast fashion and ‘coupling up’ with its first-ever second-hand clothing sponsor, eBay, with contestants now donning pre-loved pieces sourced from the resale platform.

Thinking - Blog

Tips for approaching innovations using consumer data

Published on 19 Jul 2022. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Amy Blackburn, Senior Associate

Now more than ever, retailers are faced with a wide array of opportunities to use customer data to achieve their commercial objectives. By spotting and assessing key risks early, organisations will be better equipped to avoid breaches of data protection law that may lead to costly fines or claims, failed projects and reputational damage.

Thinking - Blog

Are the brakes on for Quick Commerce?

Published on 20 Jun 2022. By Luke Stewart , Senior Associate and Eleanor Harley , Senior Associate

With consumers continuing to prioritise speed and convenience in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been significant consumer uptake in the use of ultra-fast grocery delivery apps such as Zapp, Gorillas and Getir since early 2020.

Thinking - Blog

Fake it till you make it? The Government says no more to fake reviews plus tightens up on subscription models

Published on 30 May 2022. By Stevie Vella , Associate

The UK Government has confirmed that new consumer rules will come into force to "shield the public from rip-offs and boost competition". Although not confirmed when these will be introduced, the top three issues on its hit list are fake reviews, "subscription traps" and prepayment schemes.

Thinking - Blog

CMA pushing for more powers on sustainability

Published on 17 Mar 2022. By Ciara Cullen, Partner and Sophie Tuson, Senior Associate, Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead

Following its public consultation, the CMA has published its advice to government on how competition and consumer laws can help meet the UK's environmental goals.

Thinking - Blog

Hire Heels: why the rental clothing market matters

Published on 16 Sep 2021.

The old saying that "you can't wear the same outfit twice" doesn't fit well with younger consumers in particular, who are concerned about sustainability and the environmental hazards posed by fast fashion outlets.

Thinking - Blog

Buy-Now-Pay-Later under the regulatory microscope

Published on 07 Sep 2021. By Whitney Simpson, Of Counsel and Harvey Briggs, Associate

Growth in the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is showing no signs of slowing. Square's recent $29 billion acquisition of BNPL behemoth Afterpay being the latest signal that the market is on an upward trajectory. In 2020 alone over 10 million Brits used BNPL to purchase goods online, accounting for nearly 4% of online retail sales. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that usage had very nearly quadrupled to account for £2.7 billion of spending in 2020. Such popularity, particularly among Gen-Z and Millennials, spans the globe with American consumers spending an estimated $20 billion to $25 billion in 2020 by way of deferred payments.

Thinking - Blog

A meaty debate: traditional vs lab-grown alternatives

Published on 13 Aug 2021. By Ben Mark, Partner

The number of vegans and vegetarians in the UK has skyrocketed in recent years and there are an increasing number of 'flexitarians' aiming to reduce their meat intake for health and environmental reasons. Barclays predicts the meat-alternatives market could be worth £140bn by 2029, which is equivalent to 10% of the global meat industry. This market includes both plant-based foods and newer lab-grown meats.

Thinking - Blog

Marketing mishap costs Papa John's

Published on 14 Jul 2021. By Jon Bartley, Partner and Kiran Dhoot, Associate

Last month, the Information Commissioner's Office ("ICO") has issued a £10,000 fine to Papa John's for sending over 165,000 marketing messages without properly meeting the requirements of the "soft opt-in" rule.

Thinking - Blog

Retailers to be consulted on new legislation for protection from terrorist attacks

Published on 22 Jun 2021. By Gavin Reese, Partner, Head of Regulatory

The Government is currently consulting with the public and retailers to seek their views on proposed legislation requiring the occupiers of "publicly accessible locations" to implement measures to protect employees and members of the public in the event of a terrorist attack.

Thinking - Blog

Re-commerce: the future of luxury fashion?

Published on 21 Jun 2021. By Paul Joukador, Partner and Harpreet Kaur, Associate

With Gen Z successfully catapulting fashion resale platforms like Depop, StockX and Vinted into the limelight over the last decade, has the time come for the luxury market to enter the world of re-commerce?

Thinking - Blog

The Great British (Local) High Street

Published on 14 Jun 2021. By Dea Gagoshidze, Associate

There is no doubt that the UK high street has been hit hard in recent years, not least by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But alongside the headline grabbing news of shop closures, there were in fact over 7,500 new shop openings between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020.

Thinking - Video

TerraLex virtual meeting: The new wave of M&A

Published on 18 Jun 2020. By Neil Brown, Partner and Paul Joukador, Partner

In this video presentation, RPC's Neil Brown and Paul Joukador meet with Lori Green and Rick McGuirk to discuss issues related to force majeure, frustration of purpose, material adverse change, and how they’ve been impacted and will likely change in the post-pandemic world.

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Kim Wright

Senior Associate

Thinking - Blog

Court of Appeal confirms that compensatory payments made to settle regulatory investigations are not penalties

Published on 10 Apr 2025. By Daniel Williams, Associate

In ScottishPower (SCPL) Ltd and others v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 3, the Court of Appeal held that compensatory payments made to consumers in settlement of regulatory investigations were not penalties and therefore were deductible for corporation tax purposes.

Thinking - Blog

Business Briefing: Navigating The New US-UK Trade Tariffs

Published on 07 Apr 2025. By Michelle Sloane, Partner and Liam McKay, Senior Associate

The Trump administration has introduced sweeping tariffs on goods imported into the United States. This move is expected to cause significant disruption to global trade, with notable consequences for UK businesses. As the ripple effects unfold, understanding the scope of the tariffs and how to respond strategically will be crucial for UK businesses looking to protect their margins, adapt their operations, and plan confidently for the future.

Thinking - Blog

UT allows company's appeal as payment to EBT was not earnings of its employee

Published on 03 Apr 2025. By Tom Holden, Associate

In M R Currell Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKUT 00404, the Upper Tribunal set aside the First-tier Tribunal's decision and held that a payment from a company to an employee benefit trust was not taxable earnings as the facts were distinguishable from those in RFC 2012 plc (formerly The Rangers Football Club plc) v Advocate General for Scotland [2017] UKSC 45.

Thinking - Publication

Tax Bites: April 2025

Published on 01 Apr 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.

Thinking - Blog

Judicial Review in Tax Disputes – An Overview

Published on 27 Mar 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Liam McKay, Senior Associate

Judicial review remains an important tool for taxpayers to challenge HMRC's decisions, and it is important for taxpayers and practitioners to have a clear understanding of the judicial review process.

Thinking - Podcast

Taxing Matters: Navigating the human side of tax disputes with Mark Bevington of ADE Tax

Published on 26 Mar 2025.

In our latest episode of RPC's Taxing Matters, podcast host and Senior Associate, Alexis Armitage, is joined by Mark Bevington managing principal and founder of ADE Tax.

Thinking - Blog

Court allows taxpayer's appeal and agrees the "exceptional circumstances" exemption was satisfied

Published on 20 Mar 2025. By Alexis Armitage, Senior Associate

In A Taxpayer v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 106, the Court of Appeal allowed the taxpayer's appeal, agreeing with the First-tier Tribunal's decision that the "exceptional circumstances" exemption in paragraph 22(4), Schedule 45, Finance Act 2013, was satisfied.

Thinking - Blog

High Court permits recission in EBT case enabling taxpayers to avoid IHT liability

Published on 13 Mar 2025. By Jasprit Singh, Senior Associate

In JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd and others v Garnett and another, the High Court allowed the claimants' claim and permitted rescission in relation to various Employee Benefit Trust appointments to sub-trusts, with the result that there was no IHT liability as the mistake in creating the sub-trusts was sufficiently serious to render it unconscionable to leave the mistaken disposition uncorrected.

Thinking - Podcast

Taxing Matters: IWD 2025 special with Ele Theochari

Published on 06 Mar 2025.

This month, RPC Senior Associate and Taxing Matters host, Alexis Armitage, is joined by Ele Theochari, Partner at Blick Rothenberg for a special episode to celebrate International Women's Day.

Thinking - Blog

Tribunal allows taxpayer's appeal in R&D relief claim

Published on 06 Mar 2025. By Daniel Williams, Associate

In Stage one Creative Services Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 1059 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal allowed the taxpayer's appeal against HMRC's decision to refuse R&D relief claims on the basis that the relevant projects were not "subsidised" or "contracted out".

Thinking - Publication

Tax Bites – March 2025

Published on 04 Mar 2025. By Adam Craggs, Partner and Daniel Williams, Associate

Welcome to the latest edition of RPC's Tax Bites – providing monthly bite-sized updates from the tax world.