The international shipping team is delighted to invite you to their upcoming dry shipping seminar.

Alex McIntosh, Paul Crane, Robbie Skinner and Nicky McKenzie will run through the nuts and bolts of time charters.

Topics include:

• Hire and the obligation to pay hire, off-hire and set-off, failure to pay, suspension and withdrawal of the vessel.
• The charterparty period including early and late redelivery, and withdrawal of the vessel from service.
• The employment clause, the implied indemnity, legitimate orders and related clauses.
• Discussing the owner’s lien on cargo and sub-freights and points to be aware of.

If you have any queries, or to register your interest, please contact Kathryn Lagan.

Elite sport is entering a new phase of technology adoption, where AI is no longer simply a research project or innovation lab experiment; it is becoming embedded in real-time decision-making, athlete management, simulation environments and performance operations.

This discussion-led roundtable will bring together leaders from sport, technology, data, legal and performance environments to explore how teams, governing bodies, rights holders and technology providers are moving from fragmented innovation to integrated performance systems.

We will examine how AI and simulation are changing the way decisions are made looking at three connected themes:

• creating a unified platform for athlete health and performance, and managing the legal and ethical realities of biometric data in 2026;
• simulation as a bridge between virtual and real-world sport competition; and
• athletes as investors and how they’re vetting the next wave of sports tech.

The session is an ideal discussion forum for sports executives, performance directors, governing bodies, technology founders, investors, legal counsel, data leads and commercial decision-makers.

Speakers:

• Andrew Haywood, partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Oliver Kidd, partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Luke Middleton, CEO, Emerald Strategy Partners
• Dr. Kieran Collins, Co-founder, Colata
• Fraser Singleton, Co-founder and MD, Forseti
• Nathan Thompson, Co-founder and CPO, AdVictus

If you have any queries, or to register your interest, please email Kelly Ray.

We are delighted to announce that the next Property Professionals Lunch will be held on Wednesday 24 June, just a few days after the Makerfield by-election is expected to be held, so there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss the implications for the wider economy and the property market in particular. And, if the British weather plays ball, the West Surrey Golf Club will be firing up the grill to offer us a delicious BBQ lunch.

Attendees include a range of businesses along the A3 corridor with an involvement in property – surveyors, architects, estate agents, accountants, financial advisers, banks, solicitors and property companies, developers and investors. Your colleagues, guests and contacts are also welcome, but due to a limitation on numbers, we ask for a maximum of four per company.

The lunch will cost £36 (inclusive of VAT) per person and invoices will be raised after the event.
We are pleased to offer a complimentary drink, which will be served on arrival, after which there will be a cash bar.

Our property professionals’ lunches are very popular, so to avoid being added to the waiting list and to secure your booking, please register early!

For more information, and to register, please email Vicki Cozens.

How leases, data and energy flexibility are reshaping business strategy

Commercial real estate is no longer just a question of occupation, rent and maintenance. As buildings become more connected, data-led and energy-active, the portfolio is increasingly shaping business resilience, compliance, cost, sustainability performance and business value.

For both owners and occupiers, the way a building is structured commercially, including lease provisions, retrofit responsibilities, data access, and exposure to cyber and energy risk, increasingly determines its strategic value to the business. Meanwhile, smarter infrastructure, on‑site generation, storage and flexible demand management are opening up new opportunities for buildings to actively contribute to resilience, performance and value creation.

This roundtable brings together senior leaders from across real estate, occupier organisations and proptech to discuss how commercial models, operational capability and governance need to evolve if organisations are to unlock greater value, resilience and performance from their real estate.

Key topics for discussion include:

• What would cause a board to treat real estate as a strategic asset class rather than an operational overhead?
• What does a future-fit real estate model look like?
• How far do current leases and operating models support, or block, smart building deployment, retrofit and energy optimisation?
• What risks are boards underestimating in relation to power dependency, cyber exposure and legacy property arrangements?
• How should landlords, occupiers and service providers share cost, risk and upside in a more intelligent building environment?
• What do owners and occupiers really know about the energy (and carbon) data associated with their assets and how are they effectively managing in the absence of reliable data?
• What role does AI play?

The session will be followed by lunch and networking, which will provide plenty of opportunity for further discussion.

Speakers:

• Ben Law, partner, commercial real estate, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Oliver Kidd, partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Mark Jenkinson, founder, Crystal Associates, and co-lead, Tech London Advocates PropTech

If you have any queries, or to register your interest, please email Kelly Ray.

In a market where investor scrutiny is tougher and regulated firms are under pressure to scale responsibly, the businesses that move fastest are usually the ones that have already sorted the fundamentals.

Built for fintech founders and senior leaders, this Tech London Advocates FinTech roundtable will focus on the decisions that matter most before the next raise, partnership or exit. From governance, diligence and regulatory posture to finance-function readiness, tax efficiency and cash discipline, this session will explore how scaling businesses can grow with fewer surprises, stronger investor credibility and better operational resilience.

We will cover a range of topics including:

• What does real investment-readiness look like before the next round or deal?
• Which legal and regulatory weak spots most often derail fintech growth?
• What reporting, controls and board information make a business look credible to investors and lenders?
• Where can founders unlock runway without creating tax or compliance problems later?
• What changes when your fintech starts to operate like a regulated business, not just a fast-moving start-up?
• How should founders approach AI adoption?

The session will be followed by networking drinks, which will provide plenty of opportunity for further discussion.

Speakers:

• Adam Carling, partner, corporate, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Charlotte Hill, partner, commercial dispute resolution, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Kristina MacPherson, associate, financial services regulatory, Penningtons Manches Cooper
•  Ben Chernoff, partner, head of managed business services, Gravita
• Toby Hermitage, partner, tax, Gravita

If you have any queries, or to register your interest, please email Kelly Ray.

AI is not a standalone innovation issue. For boards, general counsel and compliance leaders, it sits at the point where governance, cyber resilience, data accountability and regulatory exposure converge.

As organisations accelerate adoption, the gap between policy and practice is becoming harder to ignore. Shadow AI use, growing dependence on third-party technology providers, inappropriate and/or ill-judged use of AI by employees, evolving regulatory obligations and increasingly sophisticated impersonation threats are creating risk in places many businesses are not yet properly equipped to see, let alone govern.

Join us for a practical discussion for board directors, in-house legal teams, compliance professionals and those responsible for data protection and risk, focused on the questions organisations should be asking now to strengthen oversight, challenge assumptions and prepare for what comes next, with a clear view of the issues that will matter most in 2026 and the practical steps to take now.

We will cover a range of topics including:

• Shadow AI – do you know what your organisation is actually using?
• AI literacy and board accountability – are leaders equipped to make informed decisions?
• AI‑enabled people decisions – how AI is being used in recruitment, progression and workforce analytics
• AI in the workforce- how are employees using AI and what risks could this pose to organisations
• The EU AI Act – what high-risk AI governance requires in practice and who is likely to be impacted
• Impersonation fraud and data theft – are your controls still fit for purpose?
• Supply chain resilience – where third-party technology risk is really sitting

The session will be followed by a light lunch, which will provide plenty of opportunity for further discussion and networking.

Speakers:

• Joanne Vengadesan, partner, IP,IT and commercial, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Gemma Woodhouse, partner, employment, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Phillip D’Costa, partner, commercial dispute resolution, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Mustafa Iqbal, partner, technology, consulting, Crowe
• Buki Obayiuwana, managing director,  AI, change and transformation consulting, Crowe

If you have any queries, or to register your interest, please email Kelly Ray.

The Penningtons Manches Cooper Private Wealth NextGen team invite you to this group led discussion and networking event.

We will look at the fictional Keller, Clifton and Hansen families, each facing a series of succession, governance and decision‑making challenges. The session will consider how trusted advisors support families through these issues and where different roles collaborate.

The event is open to professionals working with or within the private wealth sector, typically those with 1 – 8 years’ experience. It offers an opportunity to learn from peers, exchange perspectives and connect in a relaxed environment.

To register, or if you have any queries, please contact Alice Hill.

As private capital allocates more seriously to digital assets, investors are looking for secure custody, robust governance and tax efficient structures across multiple jurisdictions.

This session brings together experts from DBS and Penningtons Manches Cooper to examine how the UK and Singapore complement each other for family offices and UHNWs investing in digital assets. We will explore practical approaches to custody, regulation, tax planning and cross border corporate structures, demonstrating how English and Singaporean frameworks can work together to support long term digital asset strategies.

Digital assets now form part of the strategic asset allocation for many family offices and private investors. But as allocations grow, investors increasingly need clarity on custody, governance, tax efficiency and the legal frameworks surrounding digital assets in different jurisdictions.

The discussion will cover:

• The UK perspective: regulatory developments, English trust and common law concepts applied to digital assets, dispute tested legal certainty, and governance structures for families investing in crypto and tokenised assets.
• The Singapore perspective: MAS’s approach to digital asset regulation, tax efficient corporate structures, and the city state’s role as an Asian hub for digital asset custody and investment.
• Institutional custody: how banks like DBS are providing secure, compliant solutions for high value digital assets.
• Cross border structuring: how UK families can combine English governance with Singapore corporate vehicles to manage digital asset holdings efficiently and safely.
• Future outlook: the internationalisation of digital asset investment and the increasing alignment of UK and Singapore regulatory approaches.

This event is designed for family offices, UHNWs, private investors and their advisors where the session will provide practical insights, not a sales pitches on how to build a resilient, cross border digital asset strategy rooted in English and Singaporean strengths.

Speakers:

• Charlotte Hill, partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Daniel Brandon, senior associate, Penningtons Manches Cooper
• Lee Woon Shiu, group head of wealth planning, DBS

For further information, or if you would like to register please contact Kelly.Ray@penningtonslaw.com.