The High Court has given its blessing, in two recent cases, to ever more creative company restructuring – which will be a relief to occupational tenants as they look to emerge from COVID, but will likely give landlords cause for concern.
What happened in the New Look case? |
The UK Government has finally set out details of the proposed measures to temporarily restrict the use of statutory demands and winding up petitions during the worst of the COIVD-19 pandemic
Discovery (Northampton) Ltd & others v Debenhams Retail Ltd & others [2019] EWHC 2441(Ch)
Company Voluntary Arrangements (“CVAs”) are seen as most unfair by landlords who are often forced to continue to make a supply of premises at an imposed reduced rent.
On occasion, parties engaged in court proceedings will consider procedural tactics with the ultimate intention of exerting such pressure on their adversaries that their weakened position, or even inability to pursue the proceedings, will work to their advantage. Such a situation arose in (1) Deleclass Shipping Co. Ltd (2) MWI Shipping Services Ltd v Ingosstrakh Insurance Co. Ltd (2018) where the defendant's application for security for costs became very problematic for the claimants.
The High Court ruling in Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust and another v Birmingham City Council [2014] EWHC 2207 provides helpful clarification on whether or not a landlord is liable to pay business rates on an empty property following the liquidation of a tenant and the subsequent disclaimer of the lease.
Background