The Charity Commission, at 1pm today, released its long awaited report on the findings of its investigation into Oxfam, and its resultant conclusions. The Commission’s role in overseeing the operation of charities is well-known; but what is particularly interesting in this case is the Commission’s examination of Oxfam’s culture and the way that that culture affected its operations, and allowed the scandal to arise.

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Bath’s largest digital media buying agency, SearchStar, is the latest South West headquartered technology company to be snapped up by a US firm.

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Environmental reputation is perhaps not yet the factor that can make or break your brand, but it’s playing an increasingly important role.

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In a recent case in the High Court, Mrs Justice Cockerill DBE held that the sellers of all the shares in a private company were in breach of warranties given by them in a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) by reason of an under provision of the target company’s liabilities in its most recent annual accounts.

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Earlier this year the children’s building toy company successfully  applied for the registration of the mark LEPIN by a Chinese toy manufacturer to be invalidated (UKIPO decision 0/142/19). LEGO proved to the satisfaction of the UKIPO that there existed a likelihood of confusion with the LEGO mark (section 5 (2)(b) Trade Marks Act 1994).

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Legal restrictions on the amounts that landlords and agents can charge in the way of fees to their prospective tenants come into force on 1 June 2019. The changes are designed to prevent unscrupulous landlords and letting agents from charging huge sums to tenants when they are entering into a tenancy agreement. Landlords and agents can now only charge for the rent, the tenancy deposit and a holding deposit. Tenants can not be charged for referencing, checking an inventory or administrative fees.

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Business rates in many high street stores now exceed the rents retail occupiers pay and have become the single biggest challenge facing the high street, according to a survey of some of the UK’s largest and highest profile retail brands including John Lewis, Starbucks, Smyths Toys, Monsoon Accessorize, and Scribbler. 

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This year our annual Retail Quiz made a reappearance in May. A number of different retailers joined us in London, along with our special guest Quiz Master Kate Hardcastle, to battle it out for the trophy. See our gallery of photos from the evening here.

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With Uber on the brink of a historic IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, employment lawyer Nikita Sonecha asks if driver activism leading up to the offering or during the AGM is going to be a disruptive force for this vast, but relatively delicate company.

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A significant change to the taxation of non-UK residents came into effect on 6 April 2019 which means gains on all UK property* (commercial as well as residential) are subject to UK tax. Gains on disposals by individuals and companies will be within the scope of UK tax. The changes are wide reaching as the rules can apply to direct disposals but also to disposals of shares in property rich companies.

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The Conservative Party has set out proposals for the future funding of the elderly. At the heart of its proposals is an increase in National Insurance payments for the over 50s and the option for wealthy homeowners to pay voluntary contributions for those wishing to secure better care should they want it.

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Modern tech businesses are often mature, profitable companies by the time they come to list on the market. Is there merit in getting onto their growth curve earlier?

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