Ex-British Home Stores director, Dominic Chappell has been ordered by the High Court to pay £50 million to cover losses incurred before its collapse. The collapse of British Home Stores   British Home Stores (BHS), a once prominent UK high street retailer founded in 1928, collapsed in 2016 after Dominic Chappell, who lacked any form…
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Exposure to asbestos can lead to a number of health conditions including scarring of the lining of the lungs (known as pleural thickening), asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has estimated that currently in the UK over 5000 asbestos-related deaths occur each year. Mesothelioma accounts for a large majority of…
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Side Letters offer a useful legal tool alongside a commercial lease to deal with personal concessions or arrangements between the parties to the original lease. They can have unintended (costly) consequences when used incorrectly. This article explores Side Letters in more detail. Is a Side Letter a Lease Variation? The Side Letter should state that…
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Inheritance claims have been on the rise in England and Wales in recent years, with the Ministry of Justice reporting that the number of contested wills being heard at the High Court has reached an all-time high. In 2019, the High Court heard 188 such cases, a staggering increase of 47% from the previous year….
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Or where there’s a “Tenancy at Will” there’s a way. The case of Valley View Health Centre v NHS Property Services [2022] highlights why a commercial lease should be completed soon after the parties commence negotiations and the parties should put in place a temporary Tenancy at Will if negotiations become protracted, so that the…
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Redkite – An example to be followed? Dame Sue Carr Dame Sue Carr is the first woman in history to hold the office of Lord Chief Justice. Dame Carr was sworn into the post with effect from 1st October 2023.  There are long standing and established laws relating to both equality and diversity in England…
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In 2022, there were an astounding 1,711 fatalities in reported road collisions in Great Britain. There were 29,742 seriously injured casualties and 135,480 casualties of all severities. These numbers need to change. The UK has historically had some of the safest roads in the world and yet we still see around five deaths and many…
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Road safety affects everyone, regardless of age or background. As it is Road Safety Week 2023, it becomes imperative to shed light on the importance of educating children about the rules and practices that contribute to safer road experiences. In the United Kingdom, where road safety is a top priority, the need for early education…
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A Sobering Tale In 2013, James Howells tidied his home office and placed a number of items into a bag, which he left at the front door of his house. The following morning, he awoke to find that his partner had taken the bag to a landfill site. The bag included an old laptop which…
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The government recently announced that a proposed ban on “no fault” evictions will be delayed in England indefinitely, until the court system has undergone reform. The Renters (Reform) bill, originally brought before Parliament in 2019, promised sweeping reforms to the private rental sector, and one of the cornerstone points of the legislation was to scrap…
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