Historically, companies were required to include an Objects clause in their Memorandums of Association. This clause sets out the purpose of the company and listed the activities that the company was able to undertake. If a company acted outside of their Objects, those actions were said to be ultra vires (i.e. acting outside of their
While entrepreneurs may have experience in plying their own trade, it takes a certain critical mass and business acumen before one finds him or herself comfortable enough to contemplate the acquisition of another business or company. For others, it may simply be a leap of faith, motivated by the promise of growth. Nevertheless, it is
So you have started a company with either friends, family or peers and while a degree of trust is necessary, business tests even the strongest relationships. The key to surviving that test would be to provide certainty in order to avoid having to cash in on that hard earned trust, thereby preserving its value. To
Argos is one of more than 200 businesses to be named and shamed by HMRC for failing to pay employees the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage. The retail giant, which was taken over by Sainsburys last year, failed to pay a total of £1.4m to 12,176 of its workers. It was ordered to repay
A director has succeeded in recovering money from the estate of a colleague who breached his legal duty by diverting funds and business opportunities to a rival company. The case involved two directors, Nigel Clegg and Andrew Pache, who were joint shareholders in a company trading steel. Clegg alleged that from 2004 until shortly before
The energy company E.On has won a longstanding dispute over who should bear the costs for repairs to an offshore wind farm. The issue arose because of seemingly conflicting clauses in the contract to construct the Robin Rigg wind farm in the North Sea. The contractor, the Danish company MT Højgaard (MTH), was required to
A telecommunications firm has defended its trademark against infringement by a rival that adopted a similar name and logo. The case involved the company COREIX, which registered its name and mark in 2010 for telecommunication and computer services. In 2013, another company registered the mark CORETX in a different business sector. However, in 2016, CORETX
More than 105,000 businesses have now been set up with the help of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA), a fund for budding entrepreneurs with an idea for a new company. Under the scheme, successful applicants get access to a business mentor, financial support for up to 6 months and may be able to apply for
A group of refuse collectors have won an overtime claim that could have an impact on employers across the UK. The workers were employed in the Bromley and Camden council areas by the French owned company, Veolia Environmental Services. Their union, Unite, brought a test case relating to overtime payments. The Employment Tribunal found that
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a director was unfairly dismissed after raising concerns about company practices in a whistleblowing case. The director worked for a firm of estate agents. He alleged that the employer was manipulating the accounts to reduce the level of commission payable. He claimed that it affected 100 senior managers’