As a part of us celebrating International Women’s Day, our Tulin Kiranoglu proudly represented Aston Bond LLP in Female Entrepreneurship Seminar, Monday 4th March 2013, 6-8pm, House of Lords, which is organised by Business Networking Group.
Tulin Kiranoglu, Solicitor, Tax Advisor
Tulin Kiranoglu and Duncan Thomson represented Aston Bond LLP in the spectacular event “The Most Successful Turk Awards 2012” where over 800 people attended, including many household names in the United Kingdom and in Turkey. We, Aston Bond, thank Business Networking for their enormous efforts in organising this event and wish them the very best for the next year event.
Tulin Kiranoglu, Solicitor, Tax Advisor
This Agreement has been in force since 1 January 2013 and covers UK residents (including non-UK residents who are UK nationals and use UK correspondence addresses) whom hold an account with a Swiss bank.
Account holders have two options under the Agreement;
There are other options available for non-domiciled UK residents.
The deadline for this is 31st May 2013.
If you hold an account with any Swiss bank you can contact us to discuss your individual circumstances and needs further.
Tulin Kiranoglu, Solicitor, Tax Advisor
Comet, Jessops, Blockbusters, HMV…. if these big businesses can fail so can any business, as have Cobbetts Solicitors this morning.
So why are businesses all around the UK failing?
One reason is that customers and clients today have changed how they buy. This is largely due to the internet, our growing preference to start the buying process online and our clients expecting transparency and something different. By not adapting their lead generation process and not understanding what their customers truly wanted and how they prefer to buy today companies like Jessops and HMV quickly lost their market share. Forward thinking, innovative and customer centric competitors took their business from right under their nose.
The second reason is the lack of an effective lead and client generation system that takes prospects from online to offline so that you can convert them into paying customers.
Customers and the new wave of savy clients out there that we need to attract to stay in business have changed how they buy…. so we need to change how we market and sell to them!!
Stephen Puri, Chief Executive
Both a Landlord and a Tenant can oppose the renewal of a lease using the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 as amended by the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003 (RRO).
The process involved is very procedural and strict in relation to time limits and can cause issues when serving the relevant Notice.
If the Landlord issues a Section 25 Notice on the Tenant opposing the renewal of the tenancy, it must be served no more than 12 months and no less than 6 months from the Termination date. Care must be taken that the correct Section 25 Notice has been used.
The Notice to the Tenant must include the fact that the Landlord opposes a renewal of the Lease and that if the Tenant wishes to oppose the Section 25 Notice then he must do so before the Termination date and ask the court to grant a new lease. It must also advise the Tenant that it may ask the court to terminate the tenancy without granting a renewal and that the Landlord may have to pay compensation to the Tenant and that it can challenge the said application.
In order for the courts to grant the Landlords application to oppose the renewal of the lease and therefore dismiss any renewal it must be able to establish one of the grounds contained within Section 30 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. If however, the Landlord cannot establish the grounds contained in section 30 the Courts are likely to grant a new lease.
A Tenant can also ask for the lease to be terminated by serving a Section 26 Notice on the Landlord. Please however, remember that once the Tenant has served the Section 26 Notice it has in effect terminated the original tenancy and immediately before the date specified in the notice the tenancy will come to an end subject to the rules of interim continuation by agreement.
If the Landlord opposes the Tenants request for a new Tenancy it must serve a Notice on the Tenant stating that it is in opposition to the grant of a new lease. This Notice must be served on the Tenant within two months of the Tenants Section 26 Notice to renew being served upon them. The Notice must set out which grounds of Section 30 it relies upon to oppose renewal. The Landlord may then make an application to Court opposing the renewal of the lease, this may only be done so long as the Tenant has not already made an application to Court for the renewal of the lease.
If the Landlord has already served a counter notice as above then the Tenant may not make an application to Court for 2 months after the service of the Section 26 Notice unless the Landlord has already served a Counter Notice.
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These types of renewals can be a very tricky and costly exercise if not completed correctly. Both a Tenant and Landlord can initiate a lease renewal by serving the required notice on either party.
The Landlord may serve a section 25 Notice on the Tenant for renewal of the Lease stating that it is not opposed to the renewal and also setting out its proposals for the new lease. Timing is essential when serving the notice, if the notice is served too early or late it may be defective and therefore cannot be relied upon. It is critical the Notice is not served more than 12 months before the termination date and not less than 6 months before the said termination date. There is a prescribed form as stipulated by the Regulatory Reform Order relating to Business Tenancies that must be used in these matters as it provides the tenant with all relevant information relating to the notice.
It must also be remembered that the terms proposed by the Landlord under the Section 25 Notice are not binding and are for discussion purposes only; they can be negotiated by either side during the course of negotiations. The Section 25 Notice is designed to end a tenancy and therefore the Tenant needs to act very quickly to deal with the matter.
If a deal cannot be reached within the relevant time scale either party by consent can extend the time period to enable negotiations to continue between themselves, though it must be remembered that what ever rent is ultimately agreed or ordered by the court will apply to any period after the termination date of the lease if it continues past that date. This new rent will then apply to any period past the termination date and must be paid to the Landlord as rent. The normal rent will continue to be paid to the Landlord in accordance with the original lease until such time as the new lease is granted.
A Tenant may serve a Section 26 Notice on the Landlord to renew the lease no later than 6 months and no earlier than 12 months before the proposed commencement date of the new lease. Again, there is a prescribed format for the Notice that is similar to the Section 25 Notice. It is important that the Tenants proposals are either added to the Notice or at the very least annexed to it. If the Landlord is not opposed to the renewal then negotiations will happen in the usual way. If however, the Landlord is opposed to a new lease then it must serve a counter notice on the Tenant within 2 months of receiving the Section 26 Notice.
If negotiations are unsuccessful either party may apply to the court to determine the terms of the new lease. The Landlord may apply either if he opposes the lease or if it is unopposed, the latter is usual if negotiations are unsuccessful or unusually protracted. Once the Landlord has issued proceedings it cannot withdraw the application without the Tenant’s consent.
If the Tenant does not wish to renew the lease after the Landlord has issued proceedings it may be liable for the Landlords costs. It is also pertinent to remember that proceedings can only be bought before the expiration of the date given in the Section 25 Notice or the Section 26 Notice.
The court has limited powers of renewal of Business Tenancies; it is only able to renew a lease for up to 15 years and on terms similar to those already in the original lease. The Court will then Order a rental based upon open market rent for the premises. The Court can also Order that rent reviews are added to the lease depending upon the market norms.
It is clear from the outset that the procedure for renewal can be complex and it is important that the correct procedure is followed and that time limits are adhered to strictly as there is no room for error. The smallest oversight can have a major impact upon you and your business.
01753 486777
There are many ways in which either individuals or companies can attempt to reclaim monies owed to them by debtors. However, the best way to begin this process is by sending a letter before action that complies with the pre-action protocol. The benefits of sending this type of letter are that if the matter becomes protracted and it then becomes a requirement to go to court, the courts look favourably upon the fact that you made all attempts to resolve the matter before initiating litigation. It must be remembered that litigation is a process of last resort. This letter sets out your claim, the reasons why your claim has come about and timeframes in which the individual or the company must pay the debt. It may also work in getting you money back quickly and with little expense.
If however, this procedure does not prove to be fruitful you may then attempt to use what is known as a statutory demand. A statutory demand is a claim for monies owed to you by a debtor that has not paid and may only be used for a debt of more than £750. This is an exceptionally useful tool for both individuals and companies, once this document has been served the debtor has 18 days in which to either set aside the statutory demand or to obtain an injunction in the case of a company, however, they have 21 days in which to pay the money that is owed. If they fail to pay following the service of the demand you may then make an application to court either to have the company wound up or to issue a bankruptcy petition against the individual. Care must be taken when using this procedure as if the debtor is a company you are then obliged to put a notice in the London Gazette of the fact that the winding up petition has been issued against the company and this will then in turn alert all other creditors of the company that there is a petition being issued. If there are creditors of the company that have either fixed charges, floating charges or first charge holders they will then take precedence over any debt owed to you if you are not a secured creditor.
If however, the debtor is an individual you are then able to make a petition to have the individual made bankrupt. Again this is a catch all scenario and the same provisions as already stated above shall also apply.
It is also pertinent to mention that it is critical that the information contained within a statutory demand is correct and accurate as any material errors may mean that the statutory demand is defective and therefore the debtor can ask the court to set aside the statutory demand. There are also other instances where the court may set aside the statutory demand, for instance if the debt is disputed. If it is clear on the face of it that there is likely to be a ‘genuine’ dispute between the parties then this procedure may not work and you may then need to issue a claim in the County Court.
Service of the statutory demand is also very important, if the statutory demand is not served correctly it may then also become defective. Therefore, it is always a good idea to have the statutory demand served by a process server or alternatively to serve the statutory demand on either the individual personally or if a company by personal service and then complete a certificate of service.
01753 486777
It is critical upon receipt of a statutory demand that you deal with it in an expedient manner. A statutory demand is a very important document that could ultimately lead to either your bankruptcy if you are an individual or your company being issued with a winding up petition and therefore ultimately being wound up.
If you have personally had a statutory demand issued against you, you must either pay the debt that is owed or dispute the debt directly with the petitioner. If no agreement can be reached relatively quickly directly with the petitioner you must then make an application to the court to have the statutory demand set aside. There is going to be a hearing in relation to this application and you will therefore need to make sure and ensure that you are prepared for the hearing with documentary evidence and your statement with the application must be very detailed. The court will generally set aside a statutory demand if there is a ‘genuine’ dispute between the parties, therefore, it is your responsibility to prove that there is a genuine dispute between yourself and the petitioner. The court will not entertain the facts of any dispute between the parties and will not make a judgment on this, however, the court are only interested in the mere fact that there is a genuine dispute between the parties. The Court may also set aside the application if there is a genuine counter claim for equal to or more than the sum being demanded.
If the statutory demand is issued against the company, the company cannot make an application to have the statutory demand set aside, however, they must make an application to the court for an injunction against the petitioner issuing a winding up petition against the company. It is also important as part of this application that the petitioner does not advertise the fact that they will issue a notice in the London Gazette.
If the winding up petition is advertised in the London Gazette the banks monitor the fact that a winding up petition has been issued against the company and therefore freeze the company’s bank account. This has the effect that it will of course affect your ability to be able to trade as a business and get access to vital money to pay suppliers. The only way to unfreeze the accounts is to make an application for a validation order this will require documentary evidence that there is a genuine dispute or that the company is able to pay its debts, there will be hearing on this issue.
It is important that any statutory demand that it issued against you individually or the company is dealt with very quickly as this may also alert other creditors and they may also begin their own actions for enforcement.
01753 486777
Gazundering – where a property is sold subject to contract and the buyer makes a new offer before contracts are exchanged to re-negotiate the price downwards at the last moment.
Gazumping – where a property is sold subject to contract and the seller who has already accepted one offer from a buyer, then goes on to accept a higher offer pushing out the first buyer who has spent money on surveys, legal costs and searches they cannot recoup.
Lock-Out Agreement – an agreement between a buyer and a seller granting the buyer exclusive rights to the sale of property for a certain period of time at a certain price. However, this may involve a payment for the lock out agreement which the buyer may lose if they do not proceed to purchase before the end of the period.
Contract Race – Where a seller has received and accepted two or more offers on a property and will sell the property to the party who is ready to exchange contracts first. Rules are set by the Law Society, governing such ‘races’. One party can expend money on legal costs, searches and surveys without winning the race with no redress against the seller.
01753 486777
The Government has announced the introduction of fees in Employment Tribunals. It was declared that Employment Tribunal fees would be applicable from the summer of 2013.
It has been said that these changes are to encourage employees to explore alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Employment Tribunal fees are being introduced to enhance the flexibility for employers and employees, whilst protecting fairness. The Employment Tribunal fees have been set to filter through employment claims, with the introduction of fee claims.
The Employment Tribunal fee will be based on two levels, depending on the type of the complaint.
Level 1 will consist of claims for unpaid wages and holiday pay. The total cost for this will be £390 (£160 for the claim and £230 for the hearing). If the dispute is settled before the hearing, the fee will drop to £160.
Level 2 will consist of unfair dismissal, discrimination and detriment claims. The total cost for this will be £1,200 (£250 for the claim and £950 for the hearing).
From the summer of 2013, mediation by a Judge will cost £600 rather than £750, which was proposed in the 2011 meeting. The Employment Tribunal will have the capability to order the unsuccessful party to pay the fees incurred by successful party.
It seems that would-be claimants will have to think twice before investing funds in an employment claim and this will likely result in a decline in the number of low level employment claims.
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