We had hoped for better news on the COVID front but are not surprised by the way things have turned out or by the action the Government has taken to curb the rise in cases. At least working from home is no longer the unknown quantity it was back in March. We miss the inter-personal…

September 29, 2020 Read more >

MM&K is in the midst of conducting its 2020 UK and European PE and VC Compensation Survey and is seeing some interesting trends that are coming through from the submissions that have come in so far. It has been most encouraging to see so many European PE and VC firms reaching final closes on their…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

Every year the GECN Group conducts research into global trends in Corporate Governance. The GECN Group comprises five independent advisory firms specialising in executive remuneration and corporate governance www.gecn.com. GECN Group companies have offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Kyiv, Geneva, Zurich, Singapore, Melbourne and Sydney. MM&K is the GECN Group company in the…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

Revised IR35 (off-payroll working) rules come into force in the UK from 6 April 2021 to align the rules applicable to contractors in both the public and private sectors. Background to the IR35 rules Introduced in 2000, the IR35 rules are designed to reduce tax avoidance by contractors who are supplying their services to clients…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

Share dilution happens when a company issues additional shares, reducing the proportion of a shareholder’s current ownership. The issue of new stock can be seen as a positive sign when, for example, it is used to raise money for expansion, to invest in competition or to introduce new products. On the other hand, existing shareholders…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

Companies have a responsibility to consider the impact of their activities on the environment and society and to operate within a robust corporate governance framework. There is no question about that. ESG is fast becoming ingrained, if it is not already established, in corporate strategy, culture and operations. It is clear, however, that ESG means…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

The end of September marks just over six months of dealing with the new realities of working during the coronavirus pandemic. Depending on your business, Government support may have been crucial or just merely useful. And with seemingly another six months of working remotely ahead of us, now is the right time to think about…

September 28, 2020 Read more >

MM&K, jointly with its fellow US GECN member firm, Farient, has recently conducted a survey of approaches to pay policies in Corporate owned Venture Capital (“CVC”) businesses. We see CVC firms breaking down into three categories, as follows: (1) integrated unit; (2) strategic accelerant; (3) standalone VC. Integrated units are typically staffed almost entirely by…

September 1, 2020 Read more >

We are seeing many PE and infrastructure fund management firms recruiting right now, suggesting that there are likely to be some interesting movements in compensation levels in this sector during 2020, particularly at the investment director, associate and analyst levels. Access to reliable data will rarely be so important for HR and reward teams as…

July 30, 2020 Read more >

Risk to Carried Interest The Chancellor has recently requested the UK Office of Tax Simplification to review the capital gains tax system and the interaction of how gains are taxed compared to other types of income. This has caused speculation in the market that carried interest payments received by fund managers and private equity executives…

July 30, 2020 Read more >

Even in the modern age of political “opinion mining” and “soft leaking”, there has not yet been any overt steer from the Government as to what specifically it would like to do with the CGT regime (other than, presumably, for it to raise more revenue). However, in the document setting out the situation, it has…

July 30, 2020 Read more >

A new clause was added to the Finance Bill 2020 (which should shortly be section 107 of Finance Act 2020) in June, which provides a time-limited exception for EMI option holders who are unable to meet the necessary ‘working time’ requirements as a result of COVID-19. (See here for a discussion in our June Newsletter).…

July 30, 2020 Read more >