A financier and his associated companies have been ordered to pay €172 million over contract errors and their failure to meet agreed deadlines. The dispute involved Heritage Travel and Tourism Ltd v Lars Windhorst & Ors. The parties had entered into commercial agreements that led to Heritage providing large short-term loans to Windhorst and several
The number of company insolvencies has risen to the highest level since the first Covid lockdown more than a year ago. The latest figures from the Insolvency Service show that in August, corporate insolvencies had increased by 71.1% compared to August 2020’s figure of 788. There was also a large monthly increase of 22.9% to
Employers in the hospitality sector could face tribunal claims if they withhold tips from workers, under new regulations being introduced by the government. The move is set to help around 2 million people working in one of the 190,000 businesses across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors, where tipping is commonplace and can make up
A landlord has lost its appeal against a decision that it could not impose service charges for certain works because it had failed to consult tenants properly. The landlord owned several flats let on long leases. It carried out various works to the flats and, in 2017, sought to recover the cost from the lessees
A jewellery designer who had built up a strong brand reputation has won a passing off claim against a new business using a similar name. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court heard that Alyssa Smith started out as a sole trader in 2009, using the trading signs Alyssa Smith Jewellery, Alyssa Jewellery and @alyssajewellery. She attracted
The High Court has ruled that a restaurant manager was entitled to be a director and shareholder of a new business he had set up with a married couple. He was also entitled to payments as specified in a contract agreed by both sides. The manager had run a restaurant from premises which were held
The Court of Appeal has clarified whether external doors are landlords’ fixtures and so subject to landlord control. The case involved a tenant who was the registered proprietor of two long-leasehold flats with terms of 999 years. The leases included a covenant by the tenant at cl.3(4) not to “remove any of the landlord’s fixtures”
Two directors have been granted permission to continue running their companies despite being disqualified for breaching regulations. The court accepted that they were essential for the continuation of their business and hundreds of jobs could be a risk if they were not allowed remain at the helm. The case involved two directors of a company
A firm of consultants were entitled to a large fee for introducing a client to an insurance company even thought there was no specific contract. The law allowed for a fair payment to be implied in the business agreement. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving Premia Marketing Ltd v
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a commercial tenant had correctly exercised a break clause in its lease despite having left the premises “dysfunctional and unoccupiable”. The break clause provided that the tenant could terminate the lease if it gave “vacant possession of the Premises to the Landlord” on the relevant break date. The