News, articles & legal updates

Calls appearing to come from our Manchester office phone number We have recently been made aware of a number of people receiving calls purporting to come from Clarke Willmott, specifically showing as coming from our Manchester office phone number (0161 638 3000) wishing to discuss road traffic accidents. If you...

I was recently surprised to learn what I thought was a well-known Chinese proverb, seen as part blessing and part curse, ‘May you Live in Interesting Times’ – has no real known origin. At best it appears to have stemmed from an erroneous translation from the 1930’s. Whilst the origin...

On 25 June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (“the Act”) received royal assent and came into effect on 26 June 2020. The purpose of the Act is to relieve the burden on businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and allow them to focus on continuing to operate. The Act...

Welcome to the July issue of our case law update Our social housing team are delighted to share the cases from March and April from the higher jurisdiction courts in England and Wales that are relevant to the affordable housing sector. We trust that this update will be helpful and...

Invest in planning for every eventuality Rayner Grice, an expert divorce lawyer in our family team, has stressed the importance of planning in family businesses following a case in which divorce proceedings impacted on the stability of the business and put the whole family at risk of financial ruin. A...

The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) issued legal proceedings on 10 June 2020 against a number of leading UK insurers which will lead to a test case in the Commercial Court concerning Business Interruption (“BI”) insurance policy wording and coverage. Arguments over BI coverage (or the lack thereof) have been widespread...

Welcome to the Summer 2020 edition of Retail Line As retail and leisure businesses begin the hard work of opening up the sector after the unprecedented lockdown, many of us are making adjustments and looking at issues we have never had to consider before. In this edition of Retail Line...

Welcome clarity from the High Court Among the many fundamental duties of a trustee to their beneficiaries is the well-established duty to account to their beneficiaries by keeping accurate records of the administration of the trust/estate. In the recent case of Ball v Ball and Anor [2020] EWHC 1020, the...

We successfully acted on behalf of a number of Italian corporate investors and high net worth individuals in a claim for damages arising from a complex investment transaction. The investment concerned shares in POWA Technologies Group plc (“POWA Technologies”); a high-profile electronic payment services company which collapsed into administration in...

Addressing issues relating to UK business insolvency and updates the UK insolvency regime On 26 June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (the Act) obtained Royal Assent. The majority of its provisions came into force that day. The Act addresses numerous issues arising for businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic,...