United Kingdom: Real Estate and Construction

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act introduces a ban on upward-only rent reviews in commercial leases, fundamentally altering the negotiating landscape for retailers in England and Wales.

A High Court decision examines whether a director's personal guarantee from 2008, given to secure credit for goods supplied to his company, extends to cover liabilities arising from a subsequent 2013 services agreement. The case explores the principles of guarantee construction and the circumstances under which a guarantor may be discharged from their obligations when the underlying commercial relationship fundamentally changes.

Data centre construction presents unique scheduling pressures and contractual complexities that distinguish it from traditional construction sectors. This analysis explores how market-driven hyper-growth, complex MEP systems, and compressed timelines create distinct delay risks in modern data centre delivery. The paper examines common causes of delay—from trade-to-trade handovers to commissioning bottlenecks—and their cascading impacts on project completion.