The landlord of a holiday park has won a legal dispute with chalet tenants over service charges. The tenants held long leases that obliged them to pay whatever the landlord “”may reasonably require on account”” by 31 December every year to maintain and manage the park. The lease specified that the service charge was to
The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision that a £250m contract was binding based just on what was agreed in a phone call. The case involved negotiations that took place between property investors and a group of financiers. On 23 April 2015, the investors sent the financiers a letter marked “”without prejudice – subject
A company director must repay a £150,000 investment after guaranteeing that he would double the figure within eight weeks. The case involved the director of a company based in the United Arab Emirates. He was looking for an urgent investment to finance a deal. He met a potential investor and told him that the typical
The government is pressing ahead with its plans to make large businesses report on how quickly they pay their suppliers. Ministers believe the move will help smaller firms to grow and prosper. It comes as the latest figures show that SMEs are owed £26.3 billion in overdue invoices. From April this year, large companies and
A woman who was sacked while on sick leave has won her claim of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination against Marks & Spencer. Sally Roach had worked as a visual merchandiser for the company for 18 years until she had to take a year off work after a hysterectomy operation in 2014. She was dismissed
A bike courier with the delivery service City Sprint has won the right to be classed as a worker rather than as self-employed. Maggie Dewhirst, from London, worked for the firm for two years making healthcare deliveries. She is one of the growing number of people in the so called gig economy, being paid on
The directors of 11 different companies across the UK have been disqualified after employing illegal workers. The disqualifications all follow investigations by the Insolvency Service. The businesses include four restaurants, three butchers, a café, a clothing manufacturer and a petrol station. The 11 directors have each been banned from being company directors or being involved
An accountancy firm has been ordered to pay more than $11m damages to a developer because of the flawed advice it provided on a major project. The case involved the developers of a large holiday resort. It hired a firm of accountants to provide business advice and ensure the project progressed on a sound financial
A landlord has been obliged to sell a commercial property because of the terms contained in a “badly drafted” lease agreement. The case involved a property that was let under a 10-year lease beginning in 2011. The company that granted the lease later sold the property to a new landlord. The lease granted the tenant
A property developer has been told he must honour an oral agreement to sell some land to former friends despite falling out with them during the course of the transaction. The case involved a developer who agreed in 2003 to sell a building plot and a meadow to some family friends for £200,000. The plot