A&O Shearman boardroom briefing: Key issues for directors and senior management of U.K. public companies

This briefing is an essential guide to the key issues facing U.K. companies. In it, we cover a wide array of topics.

• We explore the increasing demands on boards in relation to cybersecurity, summarising the legal framework that underpins their responsibilities and setting out tips to ensure compliance.
• We give our insights into the shifting nature of organisational governance and provide some suggestions as to the actions and attitudes that should inform board’s approach to it.
• We look at the findings of the highly awaited Capital Markets Industry Taskforce's report, Capital Markets of Tomorrow, and explain how U.K. companies can harness already implemented and anticipated capital markets reforms to meet the challenges of the next decade.
• We explain the new duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment and offer practical guidance on how to respond.
• We provide analysis of the Wright v Chappell case, which has implications for directors in relation to wrongful and misfeasant trading.
• We discuss the transformative Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which introduces significant changes to U.K. merger control and antitrust rules and identify a number of important takeaways for U.K. directors.
• We take a deep dive into the resurgence of share-for-share offers in public M&A deals and examine the drivers, tactical considerations, and key issues that boards need to navigate in these deals.
• We examine the updated Principles of Remuneration from the Investment Association, highlighting significant changes aimed at aligning executive pay with company performance and shareholder interests.

We hope you find these insights valuable.