The Government wants to scrap some planning restrictions to encourage more start-up businesses and attract shoppers back into town centres. Ministers want to make it easier for new ‘pop-up’ shops to use vacant high street premises until a more permanent tenant can be found. Under the current system, there are planning rules that restrict the
The Government wants to see more women starting new businesses in the UK. It says it’s important to increase the number of female entrepreneurs as a way of boosting the economy and creating more jobs. The number of new companies has actually grown during the recession. Many of them have been set up by people
A British engineering firm has won its legal battle with a French company that refused to pay its invoices after claiming the goods supplied were unfit for purpose. The issue arose when the French firm complained that the various pieces of engineering machinery did not have certificates of conformity which are necessary under an EU
EU leaders have reached agreement on a Unified Patent Court and a unitary patent system across 25 European countries. The court will be based in Paris but will have a London section covering cases involving pharmaceutical and life science issues. There will also be a section in Munich covering engineering and resources. Business Secretary Vince
Shareholders are to be given greater control over directors’ pay and bonuses under reforms put forward by the Government. The new measures will give shareholders binding votes on pay policy and exit payments, enabling them to hold companies to account and prevent rewards for failure. Ministers say they will also boost transparency so it is
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has announced new measures to make the international system of patent application faster and more efficient. The changes affect the UK’s fast track system and will allow applicants to make changes to an international application while still being able to request accelerated processing in the UK. The IPO says this
Handing over a family business to the next generation may seem straightforward but it can create unforeseen problems. In fact, succession plans involving family members may contain more risks than handovers involving complete strangers. With strangers, people tend to be cautious and get legal advice; with family they often rely on goodwill and a muddle
It is not unusual for people to sign agreements without being fully aware of how legally binding the document actually is and how much protection it gives them. This can prove costly, as shown in a recent case before the High Court. It involved two businessmen, Karim Dhanani and Serge Crasnianski, who discussed setting up
A director and a shareholder were held to be in contempt of court after selling company assets. The case involved an agency that sold car breakdown policies on behalf of an insurance company. The insurers came to believe that the agency had not accounted fully to it for its premiums and had provided false information.
Three out of four middle managers in UK businesses are unaware of the Bribery Act, according to research by the fraud investigation specialists Ernst & Young. This is in spite of the fact that the Act came into effect in July 2011. The researchers also found that of the 28% of middle managers who had