Five model agencies and their trade association have been fined a total of £1.5m for colluding on prices. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that FM Models, Models 1, Premier, Storm and Viva – and their trade association, the Association of Model Agents – colluded together for two years. The CMA
The government has announced new regulations to help small businesses get paid quicker when supplying large companies. The new ‘duty to report’ will require large companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to publicly report twice yearly on their payment practices and performance, including the average time taken to pay supplier invoices. It’s hoped this will
The government is to use banning orders to crack down on rogue landlords and property agents. The orders will be used in cases involving serious offences against tenants. Ministers say such offences could include failing to carry out work required by the council to prevent a health and safety risk to tenants, threatening tenants with
The director of a restaurant has been disqualified for six years for employing illegal workers. Anwar Hussain was the director of a restaurant company trading under the name Mim Spice in Southend-On-Sea. In April 2015, Home Office Immigration Enforcement Officers discovered that Mr Hussain was employing three workers who were not eligible to work in
An estate agent who found a buyer for a block of flats cannot claim commission because of failings in his oral contract with the seller. The issue arose over eight flats that had been on the market for some time without selling. An agent offered to find a buyer for the flats and told the
A property company has won the right to repossess a house after the occupier failed to comply with an obligation to insure it and keep it in good repair. The case involved a woman who had lived in the house all her life. In 1985, ownership passed to her brother. In 2008, the brother sold
A developer has been told he cannot recover overpayments he made on a building project because he knew when he made them that they might be wrong but he failed to investigate. The issue arose after the developer entered into an agreement to acquire a number of sites for a construction company. He agreed to
The number of private sector businesses in the UK has hit a record high of 5.5 million, according to the latest official figures. The Business Population Estimates show that the UK had a million more small businesses at the start of 2016 than in 2010. It also had 4,000 more medium-sized businesses and 900 more
An estimated 3,633 companies entered insolvency in the third quarter of this year. That was increase of 2.2% on the previous quarter and a 1.1% increase on the third quarter of 2015. The figures were released by the Insolvency Service, which says the trend in case numbers has been fairly flat over the last year,
More than 100,000 people of working age (18-64) are diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK. Encouragingly, however more people are living with and working through cancer. The headlines and statistics about returning to work are not so encouraging. Last month the case of Terry Foster, a refrigeration engineer with Lymphoma, received widespread news