Read our latest articles, news briefs and legal updates across all our different services.
Two directors of a car dealership have been disqualified for eight years after failing to keep adequate records for their company, which was experiencing trading difficulties. The company was placed into administration in 2009 with an estimated deficiency of £1.3m. It was then investigated by the Insolvency Service which was unable to find any of
The stakes have never been higher for businesses when it comes to dealing with the problem of late and non-payment of invoices. Record numbers of firms are going out of business every day. Their demise is often caused by their inability to recover money owed to them. Thankfully, there are many options available when it
Business “common sense” should be applied when interpreting and applying commercial contracts, the Supreme Court has ruled. Delivering the ruling, Lord Clarke said: “If there are two possible constructions, the court is entitled to prefer the construction which is consistent with business common sense and to reject the other.” The issue arose in the case
The original owner of the hotel had been granted a licence in 1973 to use the road to provide access for coaches and commercial vehicles. That licence was personal to the original owner and ceased to have effect when new owners acquired the hotel in 1980. In spite of this, however, the hotel continued to
The fact that a tenant has become bankrupt or obtained a debt relief order does not mean that they cannot have a possession order made against them on the grounds of rent arrears. That was the ruling of the Court of Appeal in two separate cases involving two tenants. Both tenants held assured tenancies and
Ministers have announced plans to boost the construction industry and help people to buy a new home. The two key measures are a £400m ‘GetBritainBuilding’ fund and a scheme in which the Government will provide indemnity for mortgages of up to 95% of the value of new houses. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, described the
The Government has announced a number of reforms to end unfair practices which it says have been holding back Britain’s pubs. The proposals have been put forward by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and are in response to the Select Committee’s Report on Pub Companies. They set out the details of a
There’s no such thing as a free lunch – but we can provide a free breakfast together with an opportunity for you to network with other business owners operating in the area. Following the success of the initial Machins Business Forum, we are pleased to announce that we will be running the second of our
Nigel Gibson-Birch has recently joined our Private Client Team and here his CV shows what he can bring to this expanding department. Before joining us he was a Partner in the long established firm of Williams & Company where he built up a strong client base. Personal Profile Experienced in many areas of the law,
I have been fortunate enough to work with many inspiring women both within my firm and those entrepreneurial women I have met being either contacts or clients of the firm. It’s always a motivation to meet with women whose business / career is just as important to them as their family life and who really