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April 5, 2024
Typical life cycle of a business
Our Commercial and Corporate team practice a wide range of business law helping you and your business at every stage of its lifecycle. Inception On starting up a business, you need to consider whether you intend to operate as a sole trader, a traditional partnership, a limited liability partnership or a limited company. The great […]
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April 3, 2024
Rights for Minority Shareholders
As a minority shareholder in a business how do you protect your rights especially if there is a disagreement with other shareholders? It is important to have a shareholder agreement in place and this should specifically cover how minority shareholders will be protected if a range of issues arise. This should include a provision for […]
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February 2, 2024
Where there’s a Will there’s a way to help charity
Legacies, the gifts people leave to charity in their Wills, are a vital source of funding for many charities in the UK. Legacies can be left as a fixed sum of money, a percentage of the value of the estate or as an individual possession (such as land, property, paintings or shares), and there may […]
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February 2, 2024
The history of Maidstones stag
The statue once described as “a dramatic, rampant stag, rearing up on its hind legs, full of masculine raw energy” is well-known by all Maidstone residents and locals, but less well known is where it came from. The Stag was sculptor Edward Bainbridge Copnall’s largest piece of work and for it he was awarded a […]
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February 2, 2024
Stamp duty and ‘mixed use’ land and property
A recent tax tribunal ruling highlights the confusion surrounding buying mixed use property or land and how much Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable. This decision clarifies what some people have seen as a ‘loophole’ and HM Revenue and Customs look closely at the amount of SDLT being paid on mixed use land and […]
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February 2, 2024
“Squatters’ rights” versus “legal owner’s rights”
Adverse possession (more commonly known as “squatters’ rights”) is the way in which rights of ownership over land can be obtained without the legal owner’s agreement. Sounds unfair? It depends… If you are a legal owner, you obviously would not wish to receive a letter from the Land Registry stating that they have received an […]
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February 2, 2024
“Smash and Grab” Adjudications – Where are we now?
Smash and grab adjudications happen when the paying party fails to give either a payment notice or a pay less notice. If neither of these notices are given then the full amount applied for by the payee can be adjudicated even if it is not owed in a true valuation. Following the decision in ISG […]
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February 1, 2024
Prosecuting ‘near miss’ incidents and fines under new health & safety Sentencing Guidelines
Commentators are unanimous in predicting larger fines for health & safety offences following new sentencing guidelines effective from 1st February. However, the guidelines are not just about bigger fines. They also require the Court to look at the risk of harm, not just the outcome. This means a minor injury or “near miss” which […]
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January 31, 2024
Land option agreements and buying land for development
The Government has a focus on economic recovery and growth and house building has already been singled out as one way of achieving this, especially here in the South East. In September the Housing Secretary announced a new £12 billion investment boost to help deliver more affordable homes and homes for social rent. To achieve […]
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January 30, 2024
Criminal solicitor turns detective to retrace family history
Gullands’ Criminal Solicitor Patrick Bligh, has recently turned detective as he embarked on a journey which took him to Italy to retrace his father’s World War Two experience. Patrick’s father, Ken Bligh, was a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers fighting in North Africa when he was captured and became a prisoner of war, held in PG 49 […]
