Employment law advice for the UK arm of a major international supplier
We regularly work with the UK arm of a major international company that supplies products to both wholesale and retail, across the UK. Over the past 12 months we provided...
Corporate insolvency winding up – balancing supporting and opposing unsecured creditors
On a creditors winding up petition, the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA) states that a “court may dismiss it or adjourn the hearing conditionally or unconditionally or make an interim order...
Gosport Property Limited, a property developer purchasing a High Street unit to renovate and sell
We helped the property investor and developer, Gosport Property Limited, with the purchase of a former McDonald’s unit on Gosport High Street. We provided advice on all the legal aspects...
Advising the lender in their £3.6 million loan to a care home operator
We helped the lender (a well-known bank) with a £3.6 million secured term loan to a care home operator. The loan allowed the operator to acquire the entire issued share...
Timothy O’Donoghue
Timothy is a qualified property lawyer and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives working in our residential conveyancing team. Timothy has over five years’ experience dealing with residential...
How do I challenge what should have been left to me in a Will when it’s no longer there?
Sometimes the value of an estate is low or even zero meaning beneficiaries named in the last valid Will receive nothing. This can happen after suspicious lifetime transactions, such as...
The latest changes to trust registration – what you need to know
HMRC now require most trusts to be registered. But what does this mean and who does it affect? The short answer is that trustees are under a legal obligation to...
Commercial property advice to an award-winning travel company
HF Holidays is an award-winning travel and hotel company that owns and leases 17 holiday resorts throughout the UK. We helped the business to restructure itself in the wake of...
St Albans District Council redeveloping the site of a former social club
Our local authority client, St Albans District Council, has recently redeveloped the site of an old social club to form seven residential freehold properties. We have been helping them to...
Advising a university professor in an unfair dismissal and age discrimination claim
Our client, Professor John Pitcher, was a long‐standing employee of Saint John the Baptist College and the University of Oxford. His employment was terminated due to forced retirement when he...
Top tips to pandemic-proof your business for the next stage of Covid-19
It’s been almost six months since lockdown restrictions were lifted. But with Covid variants bringing new challenges, the long-term impact of the pandemic is as uncertain as ever. For business...
Helping a Dutch company acquire an equity stake in a private company that owns land in Kent
Our client is a Dutch company which offers self-build and shell home products and services. We helped them to acquire a 50% equity stake in a private limited company which...
The Divorce Day myth?
Whilst many people start the New Year by making resolutions, the media says that family practitioners prepare for a surge in new divorce and separation enquiries and refer to the...
Annual employment law update in association with Herts CIPD
In January 2021, employment lawyers, Louise Attrup and Michael Kerrigan presented a legal update to over 100 HR professionals at the annual Hertfordshire CIPD employment update. Louise and Michael highlighted the key employment...
Notarial services
Notarial services offered Debenhams Ottaway does not itself provide clients with notarial services. However, notarial services are offered to clients by certain lawyers who work at the firm as set...
Growing concern about drop-off in LPA registrations
Recent figures released by the Office of the Public Guardian, the government body responsible for registering lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) reveal that the number of applications to register LPAs...
Helping the seller of a private limited company which owns land in Kent
Our client was the seller of the entire issued share capital of a private limited company. The company owns a large piece of land in Kent, on which a (currently...
Beneficiary witnesses and void gifts in a Will – new rules needed to include cohabiting couples
With various rules governing who can witness a Will, it’s important that Wills, trusts and probate lawyers and Will writers know how the witness is connected to the testator and...
DNA: inheritance disputes evidence
The DNA testing cases linked to inheritance disputes have always been of particular interest to me ever since my first case involving such an issue over ten years ago. It...
Covid-19 rent arrears case set to be heard at the Court of Appeal
The case of London Trocadero v Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd and others sought to deal with the issue of rent arrears during the covid-19 pandemic where the tenant’s income has been...