Business News

Late payments can cause problems for any business, particularly to cashflow. Katie Edwards outlines the actions you can take.
 

When dealing with construction contracts for clients we are often asked "What does Architect mean?" This is particularly relevant when the parties have already employed a consultant to act as contract administrator who is not an "Architect".

Manchester based law firm George Davies Solicitors LLP successfully defended an employment appeal claim on behalf of Liverpool dry cleaning firm Johnson Cleaners UK Limited.

All British Standards that conflict with the Eurocodes will soon be withdrawn. There are more than fifty and a full list is available from BSI, use the link below to find out which ones are affected.

The property team at leading Manchester law firm George Davies has been appointed by the North West office of national house builders, Persimmon Homes to act for them on various property matters in the region. The team, led by partner Jonathan Kay, will provide commercial and residential property advice to the house building giant.

As reported recently in the Manchester Evening News, a number of employment firms have reported an upturn in redundancy instructions from employers following June’s emergency Budget.

Business managers have been given a fresh reminder of the danger of negotiating commercial deals by email without making it clear at what point they intend there to be a legally binding contract. With terms increasingly being discussed through email correspondence or by telephone, companies are finding to their cost that discussions may constitute a binding agreement even though no document has been drawn up and signed.

There’s some cheer in alcohol duty rates being held, but little elsewhere in the Coalition Government’s first budget, with a 2.5% VAT rise.

The problem
A number of our commercial clients are working on building projects with failing contractors or where new contractors are appointed in place of insolvent  contractors or  the contracts are novated. Some  clients are  not  happy  that  they are being pushed into novated contracts with different contractors when they may prefer to go elsewhere.

This case demonstrates that it is essential that construction contracts contain up to date clauses that reflect the current laws. If not parties run the risk that the courts will refuse to interpret clauses to reflect new legislation and may even strike out offending clauses making them unenforceable.