Subsidy Control: Shaping New Law into Solution-Focused Answers for Your Clients

Programme

1. 09:00

   Registration and coffee

2. 09:30

   Chair's Introduction

   Subsidy Control: Shaping new law into solution-focused answers for your clients

   Chaired by Ciara Kennedy-Loest, Hogan Lovells

   Ciara advised DESNZ on the subsidy control aspects of the Bulb sale to Octopus Energy and the judicial review litigation that followed. She is “one of the UK’s leading authorities on subsidy control”.

3. 09:35

   View from the bench

   What is the direction of travel for subsidy control cases in the UK?

   Answered by Mr Justice Marcus Smith

   Sir Marcus was President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal until November 2024.

4. 10:00

   Panel Introduction

5. Panel

   • Hana Hammouda, Senior Consultant, NERA

     Hana is a leading economist specialising in subsidy control. She was part of the confidentiality ring in the Weis litigation and published on the CAT’s ruling in the National Lottery case.

   • Dr Totis Kotsonis, Head of Subsidies, Pinsent Masons

     Totis has “magisterial expertise in state aid regulation”. He sits as an arbitrator under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in disputes including subsidy control.

   Throughout the day Hana and Totis will provide practical solutions, address questions, and offer commentary on the talks.

6. 10:15

   CMO Test

   How has the National Lottery Case changed existing thinking on the practical application of the Commercial Market Operator test going forward?

   Answered by Joanne Clement KC

   Joanne appeared successfully for the Gambling Commission in The National Lottery Company v Gambling Commission [2026], the latest major CAT subsidy control ruling on the CMO test.

7. 10:55

   Limitation Period

   How far can you push the court on timing, transparency and when the clock starts for CAT challenges following the latest run of cases?

   Answered by Joe Barrett KC

   Joe is “a total star - fearless and tactically superb.” He acted for Aubrey Weis in Weis v GMCA [2025] and for Allwyn in the £8 billion National Lottery Licence trial in the High Court.

8. 11:35

   Morning Coffee

9. 11:55

   Schedule 1 Reasoning

   How is CAT scrutiny of Schedule 1 reasoning in politically sensitive, regionally significant cases affecting how you frame, evidence, and defend subsidy decisions?

   Answered by George Peretz KC

   George acted for the Welsh Ministers in the Cardiff Airport subsidy appeal [2026]. He is joint convenor of the UK State Aid Law Association and the UK reporter for the European State Aid Law Quarterly.

10. 12:35

    Max Recycle

    After Max Recycle, where is the wriggle room for public bodies that combine public and market activities within the same legal entity to argue that no subsidy arises?

    Answered by Aidan Robertson KC

    Aidan appeared for Durham County Council in The Durham Company v Durham County Council [2023], the first subsidy control challenge under the 2022 Act, and for GMCA in Weis v GMCA [2025].

11. 13:15

    Lunch

12. 14:00

    Principle Assessments

    What do the SAU reports on Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund reveal about how principle assessments should be completed under the Act?

    Answered by Azeem Suterwalla KC

    Azeem was involved in the Cardiff Airport subsidy [2026] litigation and British Gas's judicial review challenge against the government’s decision providing state subsidy for the sale of Bulb to Octopus.

13. 14:40

    New Streamlined Routes

    How are the new streamlined routes influencing no-subsidy decisions, the way you advise clients, and the choices public authorities are now making?

    Answered by Alex Kynoch, Browne Jacobson

    Alex is advising on the delivery of the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging superhub. He is known for translating complex legal issues into pragmatic, solution-focused advice.

14. 15:20

    Overrun

15. 16:00

    Close of conference