Wedlake Bell Insights

    • Insights
    • Dec 8, 2025

    Selling your business: 5 steps to optimise your exit strategy

    Below are five essential steps to help you maximise value and minimise risk during your business sale. 1. Start Planning Early Where possible, exit planning should start years before you intend to sell.  Early preparation gives you the flexibility to

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    • Insights
    • Dec 4, 2025

    Bad buyers and bad leavers: sellers face an imbalanced fight

    What is a Bad Leaver Clause? A bad leaver clause typically appears in a shareholders’ agreement, articles of association, or a sale and purchase agreement of shares (SPA). It defines the circumstances in which a departing shareholder must transfer their

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    • Insights
    • Nov 14, 2025

    Change to ACAS Early Conciliation Period from the 1 December 2025

    The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 changes the current early conciliation period from six weeks to twelve weeks for all cases notified to ACAS after 1 December 2025. It is the hope of

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    • Podcast
    • Oct 23, 2025

    Wedlake Bell Employment Podcast – Hybrid and Remote Working

    In the latest episode of the Wedlake Bell Employment Podcast, Partner Stephen Ravenscroft and Associate Clare Irvine-Fortescue unpack the evolving landscape of remote and hybrid working arrangements. From contractual complexities around requesting a return to more office-based working to the

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    • Insights
    • Oct 1, 2025

    Part 4 – Pensions Ready Reckoner October 2025

    PARLIAMENT Effective Date Effect Bills (and Acts not yet in force) FINANCE BILL 2025/2026 HMRC published draft IHT legislation on 21 July 2025 The Bill will be introduced in Parliament following the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 including

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    • Pensions Compass
    • Oct 1, 2025

    Part 3 – Inheritance Tax and Pensions

    HMRC’s draft legislation issued on 21 July 2025 for Technical Consultation features the points of principle in the adjacent box. Many comments have been made in response to the Consultation. We now await the Finance Bill which may contain changes.

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    • Pensions Compass
    • Oct 1, 2025

    Part 2 – Key Wedlake Bell international pensions and employee benefit projects

    Project Nemo: navigating global pension complexities in a share sale Project Nemo involved WB and i-Global Law acting for a US-headquartered cloud computing specialist in the Sale of its global communications division to a leading provider of share registration services.

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    • Pensions Compass
    • Oct 1, 2025

    Part 1 – TPR Contribution Notice against Director upheld

    In Pelgrave v The Pensions Regulator[1], the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) considered whether Elizabeth Ann Pelgrave should be subject to a contribution notice (CN) under section 38 of the Pensions Act 2004. The case arose from a determination by

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    • In Trust
    • Sep 10, 2025

    From nest egg to tax target: Pension funds will no longer be exempt from IHT

    The government’s original proposals aimed to address concerns that pensions were increasingly being used as strategic estate planning vehicles, rather than encouraging saving for retirement. However, the proposals raised confusion in the industry as it was not clear whether all

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