Restructuring and insolvency litigation partner Simeon Gilchrist provides an insight into the Matches Fashion administration. Coming hard on the heels of the Body Shop administration, Simeon discusses the administrators’ proposals for achieving the purpose of the administration. This is a plain English review of what is otherwise an extremely complex area of law and economic reality. The collapse of the Matches Fashion Group leaves employees, suppliers, tax authorities and investors competing to recover what they can. Simeon looks at the order of distribution, known as “the waterfall” , the prescribed part of the sale proceeds that is ear-marked for unsecured creditors, and the way in which the investors have protected as much as possible the purchase monies with which Matches Fashion Group was acquired as recently as December 2023.

The prescribed part is a capped percentage of the net sale proceeds realised by the administrators. With the statutory cap set at £800,000 should the net realisations achieve £3,985,000, and an unsecured creditor pool presently estimated at £35M, the prescribed part dividend to the unsecured cohort sits somewhere around 2.2%. It is estimated by the administrators that the preferential and secondary preferential creditors are to be paid in full, but it remains to be seen what dividend will be achieved for the secured creditors after taking into account the expenses and remuneration in the administration process.

For further information on the topic of administration practice and procedure, please contact Simeon Gilchrist. 

 Insurance and Commercial Litigation Partner Nicola Maher considers some of the common insurance issues arising in the event of flooding and steps businesses can take now to avoid insurance disputes in the event of a loss.

Climate change is bringing about a rise in the frequency and severity of natural disasters worldwide and incidents involving sudden and unpredicted flash flooding are escalating each year. Businesses in urban areas are considered to be twice as likely to be at risk of flooding than the average British property and in this interview, Nicola discusses what businesses can do to protect themselves and some common insurance issues that can arise in the event of catastrophic flood damage.

For further information regarding this topic please contact Nicola Maher
on +44 (0)20 7691 4069 or email [email protected] 

Intellectual Property Partner Nick Phillips provides guidance on the options available to resolve different kind of domain name disputes.

These including the use of law enforcement agencies, the abuse policies of Registries and Registrars, and the availability of the UDRP and other more informal dispute resolution services such as Nominet’s DRS as well as litigation and negotiated settlements.

For further information regarding this topic please contact Nick Phillips
on +44 (0)20 7691 4191 or email [email protected]

Restructuring and Insolvency partner Simeon Gilchrist discusses the recent failure of The Body Shop, and the administration process into which the company has now been placed.

Simeon discusses the pre-appointment press speculation, the pre-pack process used in similar situations, and what may next be on the cards for The Body Shop and its various stakeholders, including landlords, employees and suppliers.

For further information regarding this topic, please contact Simeon Gilchrist
on +44 (0)20 7691 4166 or email [email protected]

Tax Partner Hetal Sanghvi considers rising enquiries into an individual’s domicile, how case law may be applied in a defence and practical points to review.

Hetal discusses how individuals relying on their non domicile position should review their affairs in light of increasing challenges from HMRC. HMRC has built momentum with a number of wins in recent domicile related cases, and Hetal explores how individuals can learn from this. She considers some recent changes for instance with regards to naturalisation, and how she used case law to successfully win a recent domicile challenge from HMRC.

For further information regarding this topic please contact Hetal Sanghvi.

The main remedy in employment disputes is financial and in the Tribunal, you do not recover your costs, even if you win. Therefore for Senior Executives, negotiating a financial settlement at an early stage is key.

Emma Sangeelee provides some top tips for Senior Executives who are engaging in settlement negotiations with their employer.

Secret commissions paid to brokers have been a bane of many SME transactions over the years with large suppliers from loans to energy contracts. In the supply of gas and electricity, Ofgem, the regulator, has sought to bring daylight to the practice which can lead to the doubling of energy pricing in which the secret commission is added to the rate paid by the customer who is contracting through a broker. In cases highlighted by Ofgem the broker represents the customer in the bargain seeking the best price but the supplier secretly makes the broker a payment that can be likened to a bribe. Customers can claim back the commission and more. In this video interview David Greene explains the principles and what you can do about it.

For further information regarding this topic, please contact David Greene
on +44 (0)20 7691 4000 or email [email protected]

Intellectual Property Partner Claire Lehr considers the Metabirken and Juventus trade mark cases as well as the guidance issued by intellectual property offices and gives her thoughts and recommendations for brand owners who are considering entering the Metaverse or who want to protect their brand in the Metaverse.

Claire discusses the US court case on the use of the so called Metabirken on non fungible tokens (NFTs) and the outcome of that case together with the Italian court case on NFTs, the Juventus case. Both cases revolved around use of famous or well-known marks. She considers the statements issued by two intellectual property offices on NFTs and contrasts these with the outcome of the two court cases. Claire provides recommendations to brand owners on extending their trade mark portfolios to take into account use in the Metaverse.

For further information regarding this topic, please contact Claire Lehr on +44 (0)20 7691 4007 or email [email protected]

Cecilie Soendergaard Nielsen, Executive Coach, Leadership Advisor and Founder of CN8 holds a Q&A with Employment Lawyer and discrimination specialist Emma Sangeelee of Edwin Coe LLP discussing how to spot discrimination at work, some of the challenges individuals face in raising their concerns, and what individuals can do to overcome those challenges to get an early resolution.

02:26 - How do you know if you are being discriminated against or not?
06:58 - What sort of evidence should you be looking for?
19:01 - How should individuals first raise their concerns with their employer?
22:11 - How should an employer handle a grievance?
27:34 - How do delays in the tribunal process affect settlements?
30:37 - When should an individual instruct a Lawyer?
36:50 - How to reach an effective settlement.
41:03 - Are there issues of damage to reputation after raising a grievance?

If you do feel you are being discriminated against at work, please contact Emma Sangeelee who will be happy to discuss your situation with you.

Website | https://www.edwincoe.com/our-expertis...
Email | [email protected]
Phone | +44 (0)20 7691 4079

Employment Partner Emma Sangeelee discusses how understood and applied correctly, the law can offer a shield to individuals raising concerns about discrimination. Emma outlines the proper process an employer should follow in dealing with your grievance and the repercussions if they do not. She explains that further victimisation claims may arise if you are treated less favourably for raising your concerns and that these may often be easier to prove and can substantially strengthen your legal position. Finally, recognising that individuals who have suffered discrimination may also have experienced anxiety and/or depression for some time, Emma outlines an employer’s obligations to manage the stresses of the grievance process and not to discriminate because of something arising from anxiety and/or depression (for example, if this has affected your recent performance or how you interact with key individuals). Raising concerns about discrimination can be daunting but the employment team at Edwin Coe are experts in this field and are here to support you.

For further information regarding this topic, please contact Emma Sangeelee
on +44 (0)20 7691 4079 or email [email protected]