Financial Services
Specialist Sector-Focused Advice
Financial services sector expertise
Our financial services team brings together a range of specialists from different legal service areas who have genuine sector expertise. Our team acts for a range of financial services clients, from start-ups to large corporate groups, including fund operators and managers, wealth managers, financial advisers, lenders, credit brokers, funeral plan providers, payment services providers, insurers, insurance intermediaries, fintechs and insurtechs.
Our team includes specialists who focus on:
- Consumer finance
- Cryptocurrency & digital assets
- Financial services disputes
- Financial services regulation
- Fintech & payment services
- Insurance
- Private funds
- Wealth management & financial advice
We offer a full spectrum of services for your business including: advice on setting up a regulated business and on amending financial services permissions; buying, selling or restructuring a financial services business; providing ongoing regulatory and commercial support to businesses of all sizes; and advising on and drafting the necessary documentation to set up and operate investment funds.
Our financial services sector group is led by Adam Edwards (financial services regulation) and includes George Metcalfe (private funds), Adrian Hackett (tax) & Tom Rowley and John Heaphy (corporate).
Key contact
Adam Edwards
Partner & Head of Financial Services
Why choose our financial services expertise?
Our financial services team includes specialists across a broad range of practice areas, including:
- Regulation
- Private funds
- Taxation
- Corporate
- Commercial contracts
- IT & data
- Banking and finance
- Dispute resolution
- Business restructuring
Our financial services team includes lawyers recommended in the legal directories, reflecting the quality and breadth of expertise in the industry. Our specialists work together to provide a seamless, efficient and cost-effective service. We have an in-depth understanding of the financial services sector and can give you advice on the latest advancements and innovations. Our lawyers provide cutting edge advice on all aspects of a technology-driven financial services businesses utilising their experience in providing practical, commercial and tailored advice to startups, growth stage and established clients in the sector
“In the complex regulatory world we all live in, it is essential to have a team of experts that you can rely on. Adam Edwards and his team provide the peace of mind and proactive support that is absolutely essential. No less important is the style of the regulatory team; nothing is too much effort and this is mixed with a sense of humour but a razor sharp focus in interpreting legislation and the impact it has”.
Ian White
Chief Executive Officer | Becketts
SDR & investment labels
The FCA has published its consultation on the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR”) and investment labels for the UK market. The proposals would require UK asset managers making sustainability-related claims about their products to substantiate those claims.
Consumer duty
What should insurers and insurance intermediaries be doing now to implement the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) new consumer duty?
In this video, our financial services specialists Daniel Seely and Daniel Meyer discuss the FCA’s new consumer duty with Edward Rushton at Lexis Nexis UK focusing on the key issues for implementation of the consumer duty in the insurance sector.
- Video
FCA's consumer duty
Notable work
- Acting for a private equity backed firm in c.£50,000,000 worth of acquisitions in the UK insurance market, focussing on specialty insurance intermediaries and managing general agents
- Acting for a leading UK online provider of interest-free “buy now pay later” credit in relation to a £60,000,000 investment and funding round and providing ongoing regulatory advice
- Providing ongoing regulatory compliance support and assisting to streamline an automotive franchise dealer’s processes, ensuring these sales processes are FCA-compliant and practical for the business
- Advising a lending platform provider on acting as lender of record in relation to a loan book of regulated mortgage contracts with a total value of around £4billion
- Acting for a wealth manager in a joint venture with a UK local authority to establish a £75,000,000 social impact fund aimed at public sector investors
- Advising a fintech start-up on payment services and its key agreements in respect of its new product aimed at revolutionising how employees are paid
- Acting in relation to a cross border recovery action in respect of a multimillion pound Ponzi scheme in which investors funds had been misappropriated and the identity of the fraudulent parties was initially unclear
- Advising funeral plan providers on applying to the FCA to become authorised following the sector being brought within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter and advising on their key agreements and compliance processes
- Advising an online investment platform on financial promotions and the layout of its platform
- Advising a start-up equity investment platform on structuring its business and the platform, the design of the platform, its agreements with key suppliers, its agreements with clients and its ongoing regulatory obligations
- Acting for a Trustee in Bankruptcy and successfully obtaining a declaration that a charge secured on a bankrupt’s matrimonial home was unenforceable under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
- Advising The Fair By Design Fund on the structuring of a £20m fund aimed at generating returns from investments (equity and debt) in ventures designed to reduce the poverty premium. The fund is part of a wider campaign designed to reduce the poverty premium and involves high profile organisations including Children in Need, Big Society Capital and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Advising Buckingham Gate on a £50m refinancing of a prestigious residential development in the West End of London involving complex debt structures in multiple jurisdictions. Ultimately, we were able to deliver a more commercial and simplified debt structure that worked for our clients
- Advising a mortgage and insurance adviser and broker on its agreements with key suppliers and structure of its business
- Acting for a regional fund lending to start-ups including completing a review of the fund’s pre-contract information, regulated credit agreements and post-contractual documents
- Advising a UK tyre manufacturer on its lending activities and commercial processes to ensure that these were exempt from FCA regulation
- Advising a number of clients in respect of business interruption insurance claims for COVID-19 related losses
- Advising a lender on their suite of consumer finance documentation
- Advising credit brokers and insurance intermediaries on their consumer documentation and sales processes
- Advising a building society, credit brokers, insurance intermediaries and personal pension providers on SMCR and regulatory references
- Advising an over the counter cryptocurrency derivatives margin calculation agent on the EU regulations relating to margin calculation and EU risk mitigation requirements for over the counter derivatives that are not cleared by a central clearing house
- Advising cryptocurrency businesses on regulatory issues relating to providing cryptocurrency services in the UK and the relevant anti-money laundering requirements
- Acting for financial adviser subject to FCA investigation in respect of pension mis-selling allegations arising out of the collapse of the British Steel Pension Scheme
- Advising a fashion retailer on bringing a claim on its business interruption insurance policy for COVID-19 related losses
- Advising on the special administration process in relation to a SIPP provider facing a number of mis-selling claims (of an approximate value of £8million) which arose following the decision in Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd v Financial Ombudsman Service Limited
- Advising an insurtech start-up on its data driven home insurance product, including securing FCA authorisation, advising on an ongoing basis on a number of legal issues and advising on and drafting its key agreements with its carriers and Appointed Representatives
- Advising a mortgage broker on an FCA investigation.
Acting for a credit broker and insurance intermediary in relation to FOS complaints and litigation in relation to mis-selling claims - Advising a multi-national retail chain on payment services and e-money requirements
- Advising a client on a multi-million pound claim involving several million pounds worth of alleged consumer loans provided by an unauthorised lender
- Provides on-going employment law and HR advice to mutual building societies, including day to day issues, regulatory issues (including Senior Managers regime come and regulatory references), strategic advice to the Senior Management Team and Board including Diversity & Inclusion and equal pay
- Supported Companies with the necessary employment law and regulatory issues when converting to a FCA regulated business, including amending contracts, training and TUPE issues
- Assisted senior executives subject to FCA/PRA SM&CR rules with regulatory reference queries, fitness and propriety assessments, remuneration packages, settlement agreements and exit/team moves.
Experience of advising regulated investment fund management businesses on day to day HR issues
Memberships
We are proud members of the National Franchised Dealers Associations.
Meet our team
Adam Edwards
Partner & Head of Financial Services
Testimonials
IW
“In the complex regulatory world we all live in, it is essential to have a team of experts that you can rely on. Adam Edwards and his team provide...
Ian White, Chief Executive Officer
Becketts
Related news & articles
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