Articles by ‘James Worrall’

RWK Goodman have advised long time client, £1.5bn asset under management wealth management group Fidelius Financial Holdings on a complex deal leading to the creation of a powerful new strategic partnership with Pacific Asset Management (PAM), the core asset management business of Sir John Beckwith’s Pacific Investments.

The immediate impact of Covid-19 on UK M&A manifested in April, with the month seeing the lowest level of activity since September 1985. Yet, even amidst uncertainty, it would be unwise to give up on M&A in 2020. Partner James Worrall puts forward his predictions for the markets.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in conjunction with the Financial Reporting Council have issued a further Q&A offering guidance to companies in relation to statutory filings, AGMs and other general meetings.

The International Corporate Governance Network (“ICGN”), the investor-led organisation that promotes effective corporate governance standards and stewardship globally has published an open letter offering its view on corporate governance priorities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chartered Governance Institute (“ICSA”) has published guidance for companies on holding virtual board meetings.

The Chartered Governance Institute (“ICSA”) has now published further guidance for listed companies on holding valid AGMs in light of the government imposed stay at home measures.

With City A.M. reporting that dealmaking activity in the UK has unsurprisingly slumped in response to the effects of the global coronavirus outbreak, what does this mean for buyers, sellers and funders currently involved in transactions in the UK?

HMRC has announced a change to its process for stamping stock transfer forms and form SH03s and the payment of stamp duty.

In the midst of the unprecedented challenges facing companies, boards of directors around the UK are considering their personal responsibilities as directors and the corporate governance processes their companies have in place. The Corporate team here are RWK Goodman are being consulted by a number of boards at the moment and James Worrall, a partner in the South West team, shares some of his experiences and advice below.

With Brexit behind us now, and the UK one month into the transition period, it’s still business as usual (well, almost) for the rest of 2020. There is, however, plenty of speculation out there about how UK plc will perform this year. Brexit benefits, rate of growth, the likelihood of the EU/UK FTA being wrapped up by 31 December… there is still much we don’t know. Corporate Partners James Worrall and Iain Butler look at the facts and add their voices to the discussion.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final guidance on consumer law advice for care providers back in November 2018.

Succession planning is critical for any company. In the unfortunate event that a director dies, often the surviving directors are able to step in and run the company, sharing out the responsibilities of the deceased director between them. But what happens if a sole company director dies and the company’s articles of association do not set out a procedure for what happens next?