The environment in which lenders operate has rarely seen so much change and uncertainty.
New forms of raising finance disrupt the market as we continue to see the government focus on improving access to finance for SMEs. Meanwhile, uncertainty from areas such as Brexit and LIBOR reform continue to cause discomfort. For borrowers this greater level of choice combined with market uncertainty makes it feel more complicated than ever in making the right funding choice for a business.
Take a look at the insights below in which our experts demystify the issues in raising finance for borrowers and mitigate the risk in lending finance for lenders.
Considerations before lending
-
Quick read
Why can’t independent legal advice be given digitally?
£1.2 billion people worldwide use WhatsApp, with 35% of UK users using the communication tool daily. Skype has 600 million users worldwide, and is more frequently...
-
Quick read
Can a member of an LLP charge their interest in that LLP to a third party?
When a shareholder charges shares it owns in a private company, the charged asset is easily identifiable and the legal process is relatively straightforward: an e...
-
Quick read
Must a lender brief a borrower on lending limits?
A recent lender favourable Privy Council decision has put lender duties back in the spotlight, an area in which we have seen a lot of focus in recent years, parti...
Developments to watch
-
Quick read
Reinstating the hierarchy of HMRC
It wasn’t so long ago that HMRC safeguarded substantial recoveries from insolvent companies’ unpaid taxes. It did so by virtue of the “crown preference” meaning t...
-
Quick read
EU Blocking Regulation: Why are we talking about it?
Last May, the US government withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As a result, Iran-related sanctions impo...
-
Quick read
Discontinuation of LIBOR and what to put in loan agreements
‘Don’t rely on LIBOR after 2021’ – that was the message from the FCA back in 2017. It may not technically be the end of LIBOR, but after 2021 the FCA won’t encour...
Overcoming hurdles
-
Quick read
Scope of the Braganza duty in the spotlight
The High Court recently provided reassurance to lenders by holding that a Braganza duty did not apply to a secured lender when exercising its discretion to demand...
-
Quick read
Reservation of Rights Letters: a necessary balancing act
The obvious event of default is non-payment of money owed under the agreement. However, there are likely to be numerous other default triggers such as non-complia...
Managing issues
-
Quick read
Is there a general equitable duty on a lender to act in good faith?
A recent case[1] has considered a claim that a lender breached an equitable duty to act in good faith by taking a substantial shareholding in a borrowing company....
-
Quick read
Manifest error: how obvious must it be?
Most people think of ‘manifest error’ as meaning something obvious. But how obvious does it need to be and obvious from what, the certificate itself or from other...
-
Quick read
What constitutes 'unreasonably withheld' consent?
What is ‘reasonable’ or ‘unreasonable’ in a legal context can be a tricky thing to navigate. In a previous blog we considered the factors a lender should consider...