LEGAL NOTICES

“Avonhurst” comprises four limited liability partnerships registered in England and Wales - Avonhurst Legal Services LLP (“Avonhurst Legal”, registered number OC423952), Avonhurst Advisory Services LLP (“Avonhurst Advisory”, registered number OC423947), Avonhurst Capital Services LLP (“Avonhurst Capital”, registered number OC424745) and Avonhurst Holding LLP (“Avonhurst Holding”, registered number OC423948).

A list of the names of the members of each Avonhurst entity is available for inspection at the registered address: 5-10 Bolton Street, London W1J 8BA. The word "partner" is used to refer to a member of an Avonhurst entity or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications.

AVONHURST LEGAL

INFORMATION FOR OUR CLIENTS

Avonhurst Legal (“we”, “us”, “our”, the “Firm”) is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales (“SRA”) with the SRA number 654209. The SRA Standards and Regulations 2019 set out our professional and ethical rules and obligations, including the SRA Codes of Conduct and SRA Accounts Rules, and can be viewed at www.sra.org.uk.

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE

Pursuant to the disclosure requirements of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009, the primary layer of our worldwide professional indemnity insurance is with Travelers Insurance Company Limited . Contact details for our insurers can be found on their respective websites.

FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000

The advice which we provide is confined to legal advice. We do not advise on the merits of financial products or investment transactions and no communication from us should be treated as an invitation for you to engage in regulated investment activity of any description.

Avonhurst Legal is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”). Instead and as above, we are authorised and regulated by the SRA. The Law Society is a designated professional body for the purposes of FSMA, but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society’s representative functions. The SRA is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about lawyers registered in England and Wales. In light of this, we can provide investment-related services (including insurance distribution activities) if they are an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide through Avonhurst Legal, if they can reasonably be regarded as a necessary part of our professional services or if we are otherwise permitted to provide them under FSMA. For the purpose of insurance distribution activities (broadly, advising on, selling and the administration of insurance contracts), we are included on a register maintained by the FCA and are permitted by the FCA to carry on insurance distribution activities. This register can be accessed via the FCA website at www.fca.org.uk/register.

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING

In certain circumstances, we are required to verify the identity of our clients. The process varies for different categories of clients but generally, if you are a company client, in many cases we will be able to obtain all the information we need through online databases. However, if there is insufficient information about you in the public domain, we may ask you to provide copies of your corporate records to enable us to understand your ownership and control structure.

If we are carrying out a transaction for you, we will ask you to explain how the transaction will be funded and, in some cases, we may ask you to provide supporting documentation.

Notwithstanding your instructions to us, there may be circumstances where we are required to act instead in accordance with obligations or directions arising under the various relevant anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation.

We are obliged in certain circumstances to disclose otherwise confidential information to the National Crime Agency (“NCA”). Where we have reasonable evidence to know or suspect that a transaction involves criminal proceeds, we may be required by law to make a disclosure to the NCA. In this event, and where we have determined that is necessary to make a disclosure, we may not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or the reasons for it, and we may have to cease acting for you in such circumstances. We will tell you about any potential money laundering problem and explain what actions we may need to take but only where the law permits us to do so. We shall have no liability to you in relation to our duties to comply with such legislation.

ANTI-BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION

Avonhurst Legal’s policy is to act at all times in accordance with the highest professional, ethical and business standards, and we expect the same from our clients, suppliers and their related persons, entities or affiliates. We have a zero-tolerance approach to bribery or corruption and you agree not to expect or request any conduct from us that might bring our name into disrepute or compromise our integrity and independence and that you or your related persons, entities or affiliates will refrain from any practices involving bribery or any other corrupt activities.

INSIDE INFORMATION

If you are a client, you are responsible for notifying us if you are providing us with information, or if we will be acting for you on matters, which constitute "inside information" in relation to your business. Upon such notification, we will maintain a list of persons employed by us who, are acting on your behalf in connection with such a matter and who have access to relevant inside information. We will also take measures to ensure that every person is aware of their duties and the sanctions relating to the misuse or improper disclosure of inside information. You may ask us for a copy of the list at any time within five years from the date upon which the information ceases to be inside information.

CLIENT AUDIT AND REFERENCE REQUESTS

At our discretion, we may, but we are not obliged to, respond to reasonable requests for information from a corporate client’s auditors if the directors of the company authorise us in writing to do so, or by any governmental or regulatory body. Any response we provide will follow the Law Society’s guidelines for replying to audit letters. We will confirm the amount of any costs and expenses which are due to us, whether we are holding documents and, if so, whether they are held by us as security for our own costs. Non-specific enquires as to our awareness or otherwise of contingent liabilities or litigation or breach or potential breach of regulations and rules relating to the client’s business will not be answered. Where the directors have in writing estimated the amount of such liabilities on a specific matter in respect of which we are instructed, we may be prepared to comment upon the directors’ estimate if the directors so request. The time we spend responding to an audit letter will be charged at the appropriate hourly rate. We do not provide bank or other references.

MANAGING COMPLAINTS

If you wish to make a complaint about Avonhurst Legal then, in the first instance, please contact the person with whom you are working or corresponding to set out your concerns. We will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage and, if applicable, will confirm our complaints handling procedure in writing (which is available to clients at any time on request).

If you are not satisfied with our attempt to handle and resolve matters, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider the issue (write to: PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ; or email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; or phone 0300 555 0333). If you do wish to refer a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, it should be done within six months of our final response to your complaint and within one year of the act or omission that caused the complaint or, if outside this period, within one year of when you should reasonably have known about the relevant act or omission.

The Legal Ombudsman may refer your complaint to the SRA if they are not the correct body to consider the matter, as the Legal Ombudsman’s services are only available for certain types of complaints and complainants. For full details, please visit: https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/helping-the-public/make-a-complaint/ and https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.page.

Note also that if you are a client and your complaint is about our invoices, you may also apply to the court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors’ Act 1974. If all or part of any bill remains unpaid, we may be entitled to charge interest.

CLIENT ACCOUNT AND INTEREST

In accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules, the Firm’s policy is to account to our clients for a sum in lieu of interest on a fair and reasonable basis. Client monies will be deposited in a general client account (an instant access account in which amounts for different clients are pooled) unless we are instructed to create a separate designated account. In any event, a client is unlikely to receive as much interest as might have been acquired had the funds been invested by the client itself. Due to the administrative costs involved we will not pay interest if the sum calculated is less than £50 in total for the full period during which we hold your money. Interest will be calculated at a rate 0.25% below the rate paid by Firm’s bank from time to time, and will be paid on conclusion of our services to you on all matters.

VAT REGISTRATION

Avonhurst Legal is registered for VAT purposes under number 314 0424 54.

Diversity Statement

Avonhurst is committed to creating an environment in which equality of opportunity is a reality for all members of staff where all individuals are able to make best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and where all decisions are based on merit. We have recently carried out an equality and diversity survey of our employees and from the anonymous data that has been provided by them (employees are free to decline to complete the survey or to choose “prefer not to say”) we have been able to conclude that they fall into the various protected characteristic types as defined by the Equality Act 2010 (sex, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc.).

Due to the risk of employees being identified through their anonymous data and reference to their staff profiles on our website we are unable to publish more specific details without breaching the Data Protection Act 2018.