While trustees of private trusts remain primarily focused on achieving appropriate financial returns for beneficiaries, many are now being asked to consider how trust investments align with family values, responsible stewardship and broader long-term objectives. Why this matters The private wealth landscape is changing. Families often span
More about Wealth and values: investing beyond financial returnThere are three “excepted cases” to the generality of the restriction on the use of a prohibited name: the first is where notice is given to creditors of the liquidating company of proposed use of the same or similar name
More about English v Secretary of State for Business and TradeWith the Prime Ministerial leadership contest drawing to a close and a new Prime Minister preparing to take up residence in Number 10, attention inevitably turns to what comes next. New leaders are often keen to make their mark, bringing
More about In Trust – July 2026At its simplest, a pension scheme surplus means that the scheme has more assets than it expects to need to pay members’ benefits. However, the existence and size of any surplus depends on the funding basis used. A scheme may
More about DB surplus major flexibilities: the new regime takes shapeReforming financial remedies on divorce The current law on financial remedies is now over fifty years old and drafted when societal understanding and expectations of marriage were very different. The legislation has been supplemented by case law which have established
More about A fairer end to relationships: proposed reforms to divorce law and the law for cohabitantsContractual controls register – be ready to disclose Part 11 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 sets out the framework for a new regime designed to improve transparency regarding land ownership and control of land. The underlying regulations have
More about Quarterly in Advance: Commercial Real Estate – what is on the horizon?On 11 July 2024 Larne Farms Ltd gave a charge to NW Lending Ltd to secure a loan of £500,000. The loan was to be secured against properties owned by both LFL and a connected company, APD, so two separate
More about HNW Lending Ltd v Registrar of Companies for Northern Ireland & OrsAI is accelerating the creation of synthetic media, including deepfakes, which replicate voices, images and performances with increasing realism. This creates commercial and legal risks for creators and the businesses which work with them. The English legal framework does not
More about The deepfake challenge: protecting creativity, identity and reputationIn the determination dated 8 May 2026 relating to the European Metal Recycling Limited Pension and Life Assurance Scheme (CAS -85140-P4M5) TPO considered different types of forfeiture clauses and reviewed case law such as Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd
More about Pensions Ombudsman upholds Executor’s claim to past pension paymentsThe first reported decision on BLOs appeared in 2025. In the last two months alone, two further significant decisions have underlined just how powerful – and far-reaching – these orders are. Crest Nicholson v Ardmore was the first fully contested
More about Building Liability Orders – the net widens