WEIS v GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY ( 2026 ) EWCA Civ 825 concerns a challenge under the SUBSIDY CONTROL ACT 2022 to £120 million of loans given by the Authority It is held that there was no “ subsidy decision “ within the meaning of the Act.
SUBSIDY CONTROL REPORT
June 26th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesA SUBSIDY ADVICE UNIT REPORT under Section 65 of the Subsidy Contro; Act 2022 published on 25 June 2026 following its first PERIODIC REVIEW reports on the effectiveness of the UK’s subsidy control regime and the impact on competition and investment in the UK.
CAPITAL FINANCE and COMPANIES
June 24th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesZenobe Ltd v GEMA ( 2026) CAT 53 addresses the question whether or not there is a challengeable “ subsidy decision “ for the purposes of Section 70 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, when there is a step in the development of a Scheme, but not the making of the Scheme itself.
DIRECTORS
March 23rd, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and Companies
Proof that a director’s CONDUCT was, in some non-trivial degree, responsible for the causes of a company becoming insolvent, is NOT a jurisdictional pre-condition to the making of a DISQUALIFICATION ORDER under Section 6 of the Directors Disqualification Act 1986. So held in SoS for Business & Trade v Greensill (2026) EWHC 639 (Ch).
INFLUENCE or CONTROL
March 6th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesDBT statutory Guidance, published on 6 March 2026, details how “ significant influence or control “ should be interpreted in relation to (1) companies and (2) LLPs.
SUBSIDY CONTROL
March 4th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesA subsidy control challenge failed, including on the basis of DELAY, in NEW LOTTERY CO LTD v GAMBLING COMMISSION ( 2026 ) CAT 14. THE CAT held that there was NO SUBSIDY, because the COMMERCIAL MARKET OPERATOR ( CMO ) PRINCIPLE , developed in the State Aid era applied, referring at paras 67-92, to case law on the CMO Principle, including the Sky Blue Sports cases in the Court of Appeal and CJEU cases. There was consistency with normal market conditions. Bacon J gives guidance on how the CMO Principle applies in cases where a public authority is pursuing both public policy and commercial objectives, and where there is no actual market comparator.
SUBSIDY CONTROL
February 17th, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesStreamlined routes may be made under Section 10 of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. They enable public authorities to award subsidies without the requirements to assess them against the Subsidy Control Principles and notify the Subsidy Advice Unit. There are currently streamlined routes for Research, Development and Innovation, Energy Usage, and Local Growth. The Department for Business and Trade has now published GUIDANCE on two new streamlined routes ARTS and CULTURE, and COMMUNITY and REGENERATION.
SUBSIDY CONTROL
January 23rd, 2026 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesSections 2-4 inclusive of the Subsidy Control ACT 2022 define “ subsidy”. It includes specific financial assistance which confers an ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE on an enterprise where the benefit to the enterprise is provided in terms that are “ more favourable “ to the enterprise than the terms that might reasonably have been expected to have been “ available on the market “ to the enterprise. BICKNELL v NHS NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ICB ( 2026 ) EWCA Civ 21 confirms that in competition law one criterion for determining “ economic “ is whether the entity PARTICIPATES IN A MARKET.
WINDING UP
November 28th, 2025 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesGeneral principles about winding up a company on the JUST AND EQUITABLE ground are set out in ACQUAPOINT LLP v FAN (2025) UKPC 56 at paras 50-57 inc.
At paras 73/74, the Privy Council says that, in a corporate context, EQUITABLE CONSIDERATIONS AS REGARDS THE EXERCISE OF LEGAL RIGHTS will NOT generally apply : particular contractual arrangements may well be inconsistent with the possibility of equitable considerations arising at all or continuing in place.
SUBSIDY CONTROL
November 13th, 2025 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesThe COMPETITION and MARKETS AUTHORITY has, on 11 November 2025, published updated GUIDANCE on how its SUBSIDY ADVICE UNIT (SAU) will carry out its SUBSIDY CONTROL functions in the UK subsidy control regime.