Commodity and Energy Trading

Our international financial markets practice advises many of the world's leading financial institutions on financial markets products. We operate across the UK, Continental Europe the Middle East and Asia.

We have a market leading commodities and energy trading practice. We advise investment banks, brokers, dealers, trading houses, hedge funds, producers, suppliers and users, as well as exchanges and trade associations on a wide range of issues.

This includes advice relating to trading commodity and energy derivatives, both on exchange and OTC, and the structuring and regulation of international trading businesses; the regulation of market conduct and market abuse; the structuring of financial instruments relating to commodities/energy; physical marketing, trading and supply and energy regulation; commodity and inventory financing (including Islamic finance); and dispute resolution, regulatory investigations and enforcement. 

Our team includes practitioners with in house experience at regulators and within the industry. We focus on providing our clients with the legal services below.

Financial markets regulation
Our financial markets regulatory practice advises on all aspects of the regulation of commodity and energy derivatives markets and trading. This extends to the creation and licensing of broking/dealing/trading business, conduct of business, systems and controls environment and the structuring and operation of cross border business. We also undertake broader policy and procedure reviews for a number of entities, including around anti-money laundering and anti-corruption legislation.

Market conduct - commodities
We regularly advise clients on matters relating to the application of the market conduct and the market abuse regime as well as relevant exchange and regulatory rules, and other considerations impacting on market behaviour. This includes advising clients on issues relating to inside information as well as the impact of large positions.

Trading
Our derivatives practice undertakes complex work relating to the structuring of transactions and the creation and negotiation of trading documents. 

Regulatory investigations and enforcement, and litigation and dispute resolution
Our international financial markets litigation group focuses exclusively on contentious work for financial institutions. That means we work mainly on high value, complex matters for investment banks, clearing banks, investment and fund managers, securities houses, commodities and futures brokers and dealers and other financial institutions operating in the UK and international financial markets

The team focuses on the following core areas:

• Litigation and all other forms of dispute resolution including arbitration, mediation and negotiation
• Contentious regulatory advice including the conduct of disciplinary proceedings
• Investigations, including acting for financial institutions, both on the conduct of internal investigations where we report on suspected irregularities and regulatory investigations where we advise and assist on response strategies
• Risk management advice, including an established range of products designed to assist financial institutions identify and mitigate legal risk.

Financing
Our commodity finance practice undertakes work for both lenders and borrowers whether through secured lending or other financing arrangements.

Islamic finance
Our lawyers have advised both Islamic and conventional financial institutions, as well as corporate and governmental bodies, on a wide range of structures. Transactions involving commodities have played an important part in the development of the Islamic finance industry and an understanding of the relevant trades, risks and market practices is essential for any participant in the Islamic finance market

We have advised extensively on the development of Shariah-compliant liquidity management structures involving trades in commodities, as well as the structuring and transacting of a wide variety of Islamic structured products as synthetic funds and hedging structures.

Energy regulation and competition
Our extensive experience of the application of the whole range of competition law, including, merger control, behavioural issues, regulatory investigations and litigation, as well as issues of economic regulation mean we are wlel placed to advise clients in the energy sector. We advise clients involved in investigations by the EU Commission and by national regulators, including Competition Act investigations by Ofgem. We also advise clients, including those involved in trading activities, on compliance programmes and business continuity issues in the face of dawn raids and regulatory investigations.

Carbon and emissions trading
Closely aligned with our cleantech and environmental finance practice, we advise on all aspects of emission reduction and renewable energy projects that create carbon and other emission related tradable commodities. We help clients participate in emissions trading systems including the UK ETS, the EU ETS and the unregulated markets trading VERs and VCU’s.  This includes the tax and accounting treatment of such carbon assets and liabilities. Our wider cleantech and environmental finance practice supports clients with their corporate responses to climate change, regulatory compliance advice, carbon finance, project development support and occasionally climate change related litigation.

Commodity structured securities
We advise on a range of structured products involving commodity derivatives including notes, warrants and certificates linked to various commodities and commodity indices and strategies providing synthetic commodity exposure. These securities have been listed on the major European exchanges and in certain cases offered to retail investors. In the area of asset backed securities, we have advised on repackagings of physical metals.

Physical supply and storage contracts
We also advise on sale, transportation and storage agreements for commodities. This includes natural gas, crude oil and refined liquids from and to refineries, processing plants and storage facilities. Also to service stations and on long term supply contracts relating to various commodities.