Tughans Solicitors

Invoice Financing Versus Bank Loans

Both bank loans and invoice financing are favourable sources of finance for businesses but what is invoice financing and how does it differ from a bank loan? Bank loans are credit facilities offered by banks, with a fixed amount, usually a fixed term and repayments required on a regular basis. Factoring and invoice discounting have... Read More

Holiday Pay – How Much Does It Cost?

In this article, Patricia Rooney, Director in Tughans’ Employment Department considers the implication of recent cases about holiday pay. There has been much case law about payments to employees whilst on holiday. The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Williams v British Airways held that airline pilots were entitled to... Read More

Investment, right for you?

There are currently very different perspectives of the economic forecast for Northern Ireland. According to recent press, there is a high level of investment in local businesses but beware the spectre of public sector austerity and the restraining pressures of the Eurozone. Tughans work with both local businesses seeking investment and funders looking to invest... Read More

Online Trading – What’s New?

Selling online is hardly a new phenomenon. What has taken a number of businesses by surprise however is the sharp level of its growth in recent years. Ofcom has recently stated that UK adults now spend more time using technology devices than they do sleeping. In 2008, 53% of adults bought online, today some 74%.... Read More

Need to Capitalise on Increased Interest from US Investors

Business headlines over the past 9-12 months have heralded an “invasion” of US investors into Northern Ireland. At Tughans, in the first quarter of 2014/2015 we have acted on two major corporate transactions involving US takeovers of Northern Irish companies (one being the acquisition of Whale Pumps in Bangor by Brunswick Corporation and the other... Read More

Protecting Your Brand

We are concerned that a competitor is copying our brand in order to gain our custom. We do not have any registered trademarks. What can we do? Of course registering marks, to include names and logos, puts a party in the strongest possible position to deal with any copycatting. However, even in the absence of... Read More

Brexit Update – English challenge succeeds

Less than a week after the High Court in Belfast dismissed a legal challenge to the Prime Minister’s ability to trigger Article 50 using prerogative powers, the High Court in London has reached the opposite conclusion.  The English High Court has supported the challenge led by Gina Miller, a London-based investment manager, and has ruled... Read More

Changes to Employment Law

Other than essential changes to bring us in line with EU requirements, Northern Ireland’s employment laws have barely changed in the last two years. Changes to employment laws in GB, however, have resulted in a period of uncertainty for Northern Irish employers. As we await the outcome of various consultations undertaken in 2013, I have... Read More