Tughans Solicitors

Anti-greenwashing rules for Financial Services come into force on 31 May 2024

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new anti-greenwashing rule (ESG 4.3.1 R) takes effect from 31 May 2024. Last week, (23 April) the FCA Issued its Finalised Guidance FG24.3 on the anti-greenwashing rule.  The rule will have far reaching implications for the Financial Services sector and we are likely to see an increase in strategic environmental... Read More

Energy Efficiency Capital Grant Open for Applications

From yesterday, Monday 29 April 2024, the Energy Efficiency Capital Grant (“EECG”) issued by Invest NI opened for applications. The EECG will aim to help Northern Ireland businesses reduce energy costs by offering support to buy and install energy efficient equipment that reduces energy and carbon emissions. In this article we’ve taken a (non-exhaustive) look... Read More

The ‘Hybrid’ Approach To Pay Less Notices – A Lidl Bit Risky

A common practice adopted by Employers in the construction industry is to skip the process of serving a Payment Notice on a payee, and instead wrap the valuation of the work conducted into its Pay Less Notice. This effectively means that the Pay Less Notice is a ‘hybrid’ document, containing both the payers valuation of... Read More

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – the next Brexit standoff?

The UK Government has launched its Consultation on the introduction of a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) which closes on 13 June 2024. EU CBAM came into force in October 2023 with the introduction of reporting requirements, with full implementation in 2026. Both the EU and UK CBAMs will have serious implications for NI... Read More

Key UK employment law developments April 2024

Several statutory employment payment rates receive their annual increase in April across the UK, including a record increase to the National Living Wage. Several new employment laws also come into force in Great Britain, which may indicate changes to come in Northern Ireland which employers should start preparing for now.   1. Annual employment rate... Read More

Victoria Square Belfast – Claims by Apartment Owners Struck Out

A recent decision of the High Court in Belfast has highlighted the difficulties which can face property owners who bring claims in respect of construction defects many years after their property was built. The case relates to the Victoria Square development of 91 residential apartments where the claims against the building contractors and designers involved... Read More

2023 Deal activity in Northern Ireland and looking ahead to 2024

2023 Deal Activity in Review 2023 represented a year of deal activity in Northern Ireland, despite the prevailing macro-economic headwinds. According to the recently published Experian Market IQ: 2023 Report, “…. overall M&A activity in Northern Ireland was lower than in the preceding two years, while still sitting at the higher end of the... Read More

Contractors’ termination rights under JCT clarified in recent judgment

Contractors’ termination rights under JCT clarified in recent judgment.   JCT contracts are a suite of widely used standard form construction contracts, often between an Employer and a Contractor, which set out the contractual obligations of the parties in carrying out a building project. In the recent case of Providence Building Services Limited v Hexagon... Read More

UK to leave Energy Charter Treaty

The UK has announced its plan to leave the Energy Charter Treaty. The treaty contains a controversial, and often opaque Investor Dispute Settlement Provision, which allowed fossil fuel investors to sue states for lost profit expectations. One such example is a claim brought by a UK Fossil Fuel company against Slovenia following a request for... Read More

Pay when? Clarity on ‘final date for payment’ in the case of Lidl Great Britain Limited v Closed Circuit Cooling Limited t/a 3CL

Anyone within the construction industry will know that it pays to ensure that your contracts comply with the payment provisions specified within the Construction Contracts (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (the “Order”) (or the similarly worded English law equivalent Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the “Act”)). However, it is an often glossed over fact... Read More