Insights & News

Coronavirus creating uncertainty for landlords

13 March 2020

Covid-19 (or the coronavirus as it is more commonly known) has now been labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

Coronavirus and business to consumer (b2c) contracts: what are the implications?

09 March 2020

As Coronavirus fills up our news feeds, attention is turning to the impact it is having in the workplace and, ultimately, on the provision of goods and services that we all buy and sell as consumers.

Court of Appeal refuses to depart from "natural and ordinary" meaning of commercial indemnity clause

26 February 2020

The Court of Appeal has considered the construction of an indemnity clause in a trust deed holding that the words used should be given their natural and ordinary meaning. The case highlights the importance of clear and careful drafting as the courts will not readily rescue parties from the effects of the words used even where this means an unexpected advantage for a party.

Ask About... Fashion, Retail and Hospitality

04 February 2020

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked James….

2020 Tech Predictions

08 January 2020

Well, it’s that time of the year where we use our 20/20 vision to see what exciting technology changes lie ahead in the next year and beyond. As it’s 2020, we couldn’t resist the urge to treat you to 20 of our best tech predictions, which build on the themes from our Tech Predictions for 2019.

Ask About… Retail, Fashion and Hospitality

16 December 2019

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked James...

Of feathers and tax

12 December 2019

Around 350 years ago, LOUIS XIV’S FINANCE minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, famously declared that “the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.”

Fashion & Copyright: Securing your design

12 December 2019

The recent landmark decision of Cofemel v G-Star Raw, outlines that copyright protection exists for designers across the EU if their works are original. “Originality” is defined as: the own intellectual creation of the author. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stated that no additional national legal requirements are needed to bring a claim for copyright infringement, except for originality. The decision should help to unify the approach to EU copyright laws.

Champagne at Tiffany’s!

04 December 2019

Apologies for the terrible pun, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” didn’t sound appropriate for the soon-to-be owner. It has been announced last week that LVMH has agreed a deal to acquire Tiffany & Co. at a valuation of $16.6bn. And just before the Christmas rush of “acquisitions” of perfectly wrapped turquoise boxes!

Impact of AI in retail

28 November 2019

Chatbots, facial recognition, biometrics and a host of other Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technologies are being utilised by the retail sector at an increasingly progressive rate and it is predicted by 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed by AI.

Ask About... Retail, Fashion and Hospitality

27 November 2019

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked Emma...

Parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements to face proceedings for contempt of court

18 November 2019

In a case relating to a package holiday which will serve as a warning to anyone considering fabricating facts to support a letter of claim, the Court of Appeal has ruled that parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements (potentially exposed as being untrue by the witnesses’ own social media posts) can face proceedings for contempt of court.

Rethinking retail therapy?

07 October 2019

As part of our #ThisPlaceMinds campaign, we take a look at some of the workplace mental health challenges and solutions in the retail sector.

Emma Richardson writes for Essential Retail: Tackling mental health in the eCommerce sector

07 October 2019

Emma Richardson has written an article on Mental Health in the ecommerce sector for Essential Retail.

Consumer Law Update: Who’s on the regulatory radar for 2019/20?

24 September 2019

The Government and the CMA are intensifying efforts to strengthen consumer protection in the UK with a strategic focus on ambitious enforcement of existing laws and empowering consumers through accessibility to their data.

Smart Floorspace Digitalising Retail Experience

10 September 2019

Media coverage over the last year for the retail sector has been saturated with reports about the decline of the nation’s high streets.

Privilege disapplied: the “iniquity” exception

06 August 2019

In an application brought by a hotel portfolio company (in liquidation) for a declaration that it was entitled to disclose a number of documents within its possession, the High Court has considered when the “iniquity” exception will apply to legal professional privilege. So what is the iniquity exception and what does a party need to establish in order to rely on it?

Hospitality industry welcomes post-Brexit salary threshold review

10 July 2019

On 24 June, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the £30,000 minimum salary threshold it proposed for sponsoring skilled workers in the post-Brexit immigration system, which is due to be rolled out from 1 January 2021. This move has been welcomed by the hospitality industry as an opportunity to ensure it can sponsor medium skilled workers from 2021 without having to pay substantially above market rates.

Protection of guests: how far does a hotel’s duty extend?

09 July 2019

For the first time, the High Court has stated that hotels owe a duty to their guests to take reasonable care to protect them from injury caused by the criminal acts of third parties. But how far does that duty go?

Ask about... Retail, Fashion and Hospitality

12 June 2019

Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, ask how you would deal with it and provide our advice. This month we asked Emma...