Posted by Communications Director Aug 3rd, 2011, in HD news
Harrison Drury has given its backing to a newly formed community interest company aimed at driving the revival of Preston’s historic Winckley Square.
Winckley Square Community Interest Company (WSCIC) has the backing of Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council and other land owners of the Square.
The Business Improvement District (BID) has pledged an initial £30,000 in 2011 and a further £150,000 over five years should it secure a second five-year term in December 2011.
Harrison Drury managing partner, John Chesworth, has become one of the founding members and elected directors of WSCIC, along with David Gill, consultant, Moore and Smalley Chartered Accountants; Simon Turner, managing director, Freshfield; Mick Goode, director, Croft Goode Architects; Richard McDowell, partner, Napthens; and Mark Clarkson, partner, Eckersley. (more…)
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Posted by Rachel Conroy Jul 26th, 2011, in Wills, Probate and Trusts
Inheritance tax is a tax on the value of a person’s estate on death and on certain gifts made during their lifetime.
Inheritance tax is currently payable at a rate of 40 per cent if a person has assets worth over £325,000 at the date of their death. Here are our five top tips to reducing inheritance tax:
Review your will
Your solicitor will be able to advise you of the most tax efficient way to write your will. This will ensure you make the most of any inheritance tax reliefs which are available in your particular circumstances.
Marry your partner
There are a number of inheritance tax reliefs that are available to gifts made on death to a spouse or civil partner. These exemptions are not available where you merely live together, regardless of how long you have lived together. (more…)
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Posted by Communications Director Jul 19th, 2011, in Case studies, Dispute Resolution, Property
A property developer has been ordered to pay almost £40,000 in additional fees to an architecture practice after a successful adjudication result secured by Harrison Drury Solicitors.
The dispute arose following the delayed completion of a new housing development which, according to the claimant Core Design, resulted in significant additional work outside what it was contracted to provide under its fixed-price building contract.
The scheme of four blocks of flats on the site in Chesterfield had been due to complete in February 2008, but work was not finished until March 2009, prompting the adjudication proceedings.
Acting for Core Design, Harrison Drury successfully argued that the additional works caused by the delay amounted to a “changes in the programme of works” under the building contract and that its client was therefore entitled to payment for those additional works. (more…)
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Posted by Roger Spence Jul 13th, 2011, in Employment Law
A number of changes are coming into force on October 1 2011 when the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is implemented. The regulations are intended to offer better treatment to agency workers and offer a form of equal treatment in line with permanent members of staff.
The new regulations will apply to all ‘temp agencies’ who supply temporary staff to businesses.
The agency worker will, after a qualifying period, be entitled to equal “basic working and employment conditions”. Basic conditions are restricted to pay, working time, night work, rest periods, rest breaks and annual leave. However, they will only apply if they would have been ordinarily included in the contract had the person been recruited permanently.
The qualifying period is 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role for the same business. There are anti-avoidance provisions in place to prevent businesses moving workers to marginally different roles before the twelve weeks expires. (more…)
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Posted by Roger Spence Jul 6th, 2011, in Business Protection, Employment Law
Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs have become an excellent new tool for businesses to market their products and services.
Many businesses now use social media to engage with customers and it is now commonplace for individual employees within businesses to log onto social networking sites at least once a day.
However, in recent months there have been a number of high profile cases where employees have been the subject of disciplinary investigation due to inappropriate comments on, or general misuse of, social networking sites. This throws up a number of employment law issues. (more…)
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Posted by Andrew Bartlett Jun 28th, 2011, in Property
The media appears to be bombarding us at the moment with innumerable ‘facts’ about residential conveyancing, many of which contradict each other, and some that are simply misleading.
In my experience the market is buoyant and Harrison Drury has completed more transactions in the last few months than we have for a long time, which I attribute to clients being more realistic and having a good team behind them.
Regrettably some sellers (often encouraged by estate agents seeking their business) have an unrealistic opinion of the value of their property and an unrealistic expectation that the seller of the property they want to buy will reduce their price.
(more…)
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Posted by Communications Director Jun 26th, 2011, in HD news
A popular Preston legal executive has retired after working for Harrison Drury for over 55 years.
Brenda Rainford, who is well known in the city’s legal circles, retired from the firm at the end of May after joining the firm straight from school on August 5, 1955, as a junior clerk.
Brenda, who has a daughter and three grandchildren, met her husband Fred while working at Harrison Drury and rose through the ranks to become senior legal executive for its residential conveyancing team, advising on the sale and purchase of houses.
She has only ever worked in two offices, the firm’s current Fleet Street premises in Preston and its previous offices in nearby Lune Street which it moved out of in 1960. (more…)
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Posted by John Chesworth Jun 24th, 2011, in Property
In these tough times for commercial tenants, the right to terminate a lease early by exercising a break clause is extremely valuable if the tenant is wishing to downsize in order to cut costs.
However, it is common for break clauses in commercial leases to be tightly drafted by the landlord’s advisers and they are often conditional upon the tenant having paid all sums due under the lease, there being no subsisting breach of the lease terms, and the tenant giving vacant possession at the break date.
In the case of NYK Logistics (UK) Limited v Ibrend Estates BV, decided last week, the Court of Appeal gave a stark reminder of what is meant by vacant possession. In that case, the tenant, NYK, was carrying out repairs to the property running up to the break date and asked the landlord for confirmation that they could remain in the property for a couple of weeks after the break. (more…)
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Posted by Communications Director Jun 9th, 2011, in HD news, Mergers and Acquisitions
Manchester’s four-star Pinewood Hotel has been purchased by the owners of a Lake District hotel for an undisclosed sum.
The 58-bedroom Pinewood Hotel, situated near Wilmslow and Manchester Airport, has been acquired from Menzies Hotels by Pinewood on Wilmslow LLP, a partnership of the four directors from the Best Western Castle Green Hotel in Kendal.
The new owners, who were advised on the purchase by the mergers and acquisitions team at Harrison Drury Solicitors, have plans to further develop the site following the seven-figure deal and will rebrand the property to the Best Western Pinewood on Wilmslow.
Managing director Tim Rumney said the new management team is looking to identify further opportunities to improve the customer experience and financial performance of the business, and expects significant job creation through the growth of the team and longer-term development of the site. (more…)
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Posted by David Filmer May 31st, 2011, in Mergers and Acquisitions
Working together with someone to bring something new to market is an exciting time for any business. However, in the rush it is easy to slip up and miss things which may come back to haunt you once the dust has settled. If you are thinking of entering into a joint venture, make sure that you don’t fall foul of any of these:
Documentation
As with any business situation, proper legal documentation is essential. Lawyers may sound like a broken record in this regard, but getting the legals right at the outset will save you time and money in the event that things don’t go to plan. Bear in mind that this potentially deprives the lawyers out of work and fees in the long run, so it must be good advice!
Ownership
Most joint ventures are conducted through a newly incorporated company or similar corporate entity. To that end, all of the assets, rights and property needed to make the JV work will need to be either transferred to the JV company, or the JV company must be given the right to use such assets in advance. Careful checks will need to be included to ensure that such ownership or usage is properly regulated on incorporation, during the life of the JV, and on dissolution. (more…)
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