The Supreme Court has ruled that an oral agreement to vary the terms of a licence for serviced offices was ineffective because the contract specified that all changes had to be in writing to be valid. The long running dispute involved Rock Advertising Ltd, who rented premises from MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd. The contract
An airline that leased an engine on an “as is” basis has lost a dispute over having to continue paying for it when it turned out to be faulty. The issue arose when the airline needed an engine while one of its own engines was undergoing maintenance. It agreed a 10-month lease with a supplier.
Landlords must consult tenants over service charges for work carried out on their homes but how far does that obligation go? The Court of Appeal provided a useful insight in a recent case involving property company Reedbase Ltd and some of its tenants. An asphalt roof needed to be repaired, which involved removing tiles. Some
Two estate agents have been disqualified from being directors after they took part in a price fixing cartel. The move follows an investigation last year that resulted in five Somerset estate agents being fined more than £370,000 for secretly agreeing between themselves the fees they charged. David Baker and Julian Frost were, at the time,
Employers must do more to prevent sexual harassment and remove toxic cultures in many workplaces, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The Commission makes several recommendations to improve protection for employees in a new report, Turning the tables: ending sexual harassment at work. The report is based on evidence gathered from 1,000
A beauty spa manager has been granted an injunction against Harrods department store after it decided not to renew her contract. The case involved a woman who ran a hairdressing, beauty treatment and spa business called Urban Retreats from a concession within Harrods. In 2014, she agreed with the store to extend her licence until
A director of a haulage business has been disqualified for seven years after he sold company assets for his own benefit, leaving creditors unpaid. Gilmour James McFarlane was a director of Garden Haulage Ltd. His company went into liquidation in 2015, owing £38,670 to creditors. While the company was insolvent, McFarlane sold off assets including
The government is pressing ahead with its plans to make property agents in the private sector join “an approved or designated client money protection (CMP) scheme” if they handle client money. The move follows a public consultation by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at the end of last year. In its response
The government has introduced new measures to protect company directors from identity fraud after research showed they are twice as likely as other people to be targeted by criminals. Until now, directors were required to register their personal address with Companies House. The records are public documents, so the information is available to anyone. This
Companies House has issued new guidance to help directors comply with regulations relating to identifying and recording who owns or controls the business. The owner or the person who makes the key decisions is known as a Person with Significant Control (PSC) or the ‘beneficial owner’. Companies must identify their PSCs when registering with Companies