Insights

London – September 18, 2026: Crowell & Moring advised the Gold Family on the successful disposal of a 24.9% interest in WH Holding Limited, the holding company of West Ham United Football Club. The Gold Family originally agreed to sell its shareholding to a consortium comprising PCP Capital Partners, led by Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and Ashland Forest Capital Partners. However, the proposed sale was subject to the pre-emption rights of the existing shareholders (including Daniel Kretinsky), who exercised those rights in full in September 2026 and subsequently completed the acquisition. The Crowell team was led by London corporate partner Simon Evers, counsel Stephen Bowman, and associate Emily McGovern.

May 22, 2026: A Crowell & Moring team represented Kanders & Company in a complex carveout transaction in which Kanders acquired the biosecurity business of publicly traded Ginkgo Bioworks. The resulting company, Perimeter Systems, has launched as the world’s first integrated biosecurity infrastructure platform, designed to transform biological signals into real-time intelligence and accelerate decisive response. At closing, Perimeter secured $60 million in growth capital, led by Kanders in partnership with SCS Financial, Goldcrest Capital, Four Cities Capital, and the Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund (SAIF).

The UK government has launched a consultation that could fundamentally change the UK’s corporate reporting framework. The consultation was published on 7 September 2026 and closes on 30 November 2026. 

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently issued consultation paper CP26/5, proposing to replace the existing Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) requirements with new rules mandating listed companies to report against the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). These are based on the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) brings major changes to UK company law and the operation of Companies House. Whether you are a UK business, an LLP, or an international organisation with UK operations, these reforms will affect your compliance obligations and the way you manage company records. The ECCTA aims to strengthen the UK’s response to corporate and economic crime by improving transparency and accountability across all entities registered or operating in the UK.