Related Practices
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Our London-based financial institutions and regulatory group focuses on advising banks, investment managers, institutional funds, broker-dealers and other participants in the financial markets on the legal and regulatory aspects of their regulated businesses. In addition, the group assists in structuring and documenting transactions between these institutions and their institutional client base.
We advise in particular on the following:
Financial Regulation
- Application of the UK regulatory regime relating to banking and investment services under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and subsidiary legislation.
- EU Financial Services Action Plan and other directives (including the Markets in Financial Instruments, Prospectus, Transparency, Market Abuse and Money Laundering Directives).
- Rules and regulations of the Financial Services Authority.
- Applications for FSA authorisation, EU 'passporting' applications, approvals for changes in control of regulated entities, individual guidance and ongoing regulatory compliance issues for banks and investment firms.
- Anti-money laundering compliance and reporting.
Financial Products
- Structuring and establishment of private equity funds.
- Advising on primary investment in new private equity funds and acquisition of portfolios of secondary private equity fund and direct interests.
- Structuring and establishment of hedge funds and other institutional funds (including UK domestic funds).
- Generally advising on regulatory issues relating to the promotion and provision of new products, preparing customer agreements and terms and conditions and compliance documentation.
EU and UK Regulatory and Policy Developments
- Evaluating and advising on new UK and EU legislative proposals and representing clients with respect to legislative proposals.
Securities
- UK securities regulation, Listing Rules and AIM rules in the context of:
- public offerings of securities in connection with IPOs on the London Stock Exchange main market and on AiM and secondary issues by listed/traded issuers;
- private placements and offerings of unlisted securities; and
- take-overs and mergers of listed/traded issuers.
- Market abuse and insider dealing issues.
- Listed/traded issuers on listing rule and disclosure rule compliance.
- Active investors in relation to stakebuilding and shareholder action.
M&A
- Regulatory aspects of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions in the financial services sector, including handling and co-ordination of due diligence enquiries (both UK and overseas) and advising on requirements for regulatory consents and approvals.
Representative Matters
- Advising institutional investors on take-over code, market abuse and insider dealing issues in connection with stakebuilding in and acquisition of board control of various listed companies.
- Advising an overseas bank on the transfer of its retail and corporate banking business to a newly established UK subsidiary bank by way of a banking business transfer scheme under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
- Advising a listed investment company on its £125 million capital restructuring involving the capitalisation of participating loan securities to create a redeemable share programme and subsequent £87.5 million placing of redeemable shares.
- Advising a US institution on its: proposed acquisition of an FSA authorised FOREX dealer.
- Advising a UK investment manager on its conversion to limited liability partnership and transfer of existing business.
- Advising a number of private equity firms of the potential implications of the proposed EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, and making representations in Brussels on their behalf with a view to seeking favourable changes (to some extent successfully) in the proposed Directive.
- Advising an institutional cornerstone investor in a fund of hedge funds on the restructuring and ultimate liquidation of the fund.
Accolades
- Legal 500 UK (2010)
- Financial Services: Simon Currie
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