Author: Jacqueline Button

Its been a busy couple of weeks for an international corporation which owns a British institution. And that isn’t News International and the now defunct News of the World. Marks & Spencer has 600 stores in the UK and over 300 further stores worldwide. It employs 75,000 people in the UK and 21million people visit its UK shops every week.  The brand is now 125 years old (there is a museum in Leeds celebrating its history) and it would be hard to argue that it’s not going strong.

Last week M&S held its AGM. Questions from shareholders included topics such as socks and bread (apparently M&S bread doesn’t compare well with other brands but the bakers are working on improving it). These are subjects close to the shareholder’s hearts and also to the retailer’s customers’: a well-dressed, well-heeled army of discerning shoppers who appreciate quality in either socks or seeded batch. They like value but not value retailers and are older than the average high street shopper.

Unlike John Lewis which is concerned it is too “beige” the directors of M&S are alive to the fact that the brand could be becoming too colourful for its core customer. Its Classic collection is enduring and popular and the ranges aimed at younger customers such as Portfolio and Indigo are hardly competing with Top Shop and River Island. The biggest indicator, however, that not only are M&S’s customers older but that the board listens to them is that the TV Ads featuring the “M&S girls” are to be axed because they are not appealing to the core shoppers. So no more shots of Myleene Klass and Lisa Snowden in bikinis or Dannii Minogue and VV Brown in skimpy dresses. The agelessly glamorous Twiggy will be retained but only for billboards and in-store promotions. This is a cunning move: please the customers and save a fortune in advertising costs in one well timed decision.

Even before this masterstroke M&S stood out as a success story in the retail graveyard which 2011 has become. Its most recent results are a rise in like-for-like sales of 1.7% in the 13 weeks to 2 July. Whilst this growth is driven by food the retailer did gain a share in the clothing market, a trend which is likely to continue given the difficulties of other retailers in the sector (although fans of the latest clothing casualty Jane Norman are unlikely to flock to M&S in large numbers).

M&S’s real strength, and the sector which will see it through the bad times, double dip or not, is food. The brand is aspirational, synonymous with quality and with little competition in the mass market. Only Waitrose comes close but in competing as a true supermarket cannot narrow its focus on the top end of the market as effectively as M&S. For the M&S customer food is good and cooking is easy (made so by the Cook range and the Bistro products amongst others). This comes at a price but M&S customers are prepared to pay it. Any relaxation of that price, such as the Dine In for £10 offer, leads to scenes reminiscent of a zoo feeding frenzy as excited customers try to grab the best bargain.

From its variety of cafes to its no quibbles returns policy M&S is doing almost everything right. There are sectors where it could do better (its jewellery, for example, its overpriced compared to Accesorize) or which it could do away with (a lot of other retailers, not least John Lewis, has a wider, better selection of electricals) but its core offering of food and clothes is hard to beat. The shareholders may complain about the quality of the bread but they know their investment is a wise one and, what’s more, that the directors listen to them. They are (or should be) happy shoppers.

Author: Chris Alexander

It has been an interesting few months in the courts for the tenancy deposit legislation and the balance of power has swung very firmly in favour of the landlords.

All private residential landlords should be familiar with the requirement to pay a tenancy deposit into an authorised scheme within 14 days of receipt.  It has been a mandatory requirement to do so since April 2009.  There legislation provided for some fairly draconian penalties against landlords for non-compliance, including a requirement to either return the deposit to the tenant or to pay it into a scheme and to pay the tenant a fine to the value of three times the amount of the deposit after the tenant has applied to Court.

Those of you who read my blogs in November 2010 (Tenancy Deposit Schemes, common sense prevails?) and in May 2011 (More Deposit Protection Developments) will be familiar with the fact that landlords can escape this fine if they pay the deposit into a scheme before the Court hearing date and that they can do this even after the tenancy has ended.

The position has got even tougher for tenants after the recent decision in Gladehurst Properties Ltd v Hashemi and another [2011] EWCA Civ 604.  Now, if a tenant fails to issue their Court proceedings before their tenancy ends, they will be too late to claim their fine as the Court of Appeal ruled that after the tenancy had ended it lacked the genuine discretion to choose.  This decision could be interpreted one step further and mean that even proceedings issued shortly before the end of the tenancy may not be effective as if the tenancy ends before the hearing then the tenant will lose.

This whole episode means that the likelihood of many more of these cases coming to Court is fairly limited as the door has been firmly slammed in the faces of the tenant.

However, it does not make compliance optional for landlords, until the deposit is properly protected and the relevant information has been served upon the tenant then the landlord still cannot use section 21, which is usually the cheapest way to evict a tenant.

Author: Chris Cook

I am pleased to report that SA Law recorded a resounding victory against Rayner Essex earlier this week.

Electing to bat in wet conditions, SA Law’s innings got off to a poor start with Satinder falling for a second ball duck.  Terrence and the skipper set about steadying the ship, both scoring 25 before retiring.  To the dismay of the onlookers, star ringers Guy and Josh both failed with the bat, scoring two runs between them.  It was left to Gary, Simon and the particularly impressive Chris A to score the middle-order runs, each scoring at a decent rate to keep the SA Law innings moving along at about a run a ball.  Hayley, supported by Andrew and Nat, played her maiden innings for the team, tweaking her quad muscles in the process (a la Peter Baines) but struck a strong blow off the last ball of the innings before being run out pushing for a third run.  SA Law finished on a respectable 116 for 9 from their 20 overs.

Josh and Guy, clearly riled at their batting failures, were handed the ball at the start of the Rayner Essex innings, with both bowling well to keep the run rate down.  The SA Law fielding was unusually sharp given the slippery conditions, with Josh and Steve F both producing smart run outs and Hayley, Gary, Nat and Andrew “the ball won’t go past me if I stamp on it” Nellist all pulling off decent stops.  Rik, batting for the opposition, benefitted from the “golden duck reprieve” rule and went on to score 8 before being bowled by Guy.  Terrence and Chris A came on as change bowlers and both kept up the pressure on the batsmen, with Chris taking two wickets in the process and Terrence bowling a very economical spell as darkness descended.  It was left to Satinder and the “golden arm” of Simon Walsh to bowl the last few overs, with Satinder picking up a wicket with a deceptively-slow first ball, while Simon took two wickets in the last over of the match to leave the opposition on 90 for 9 from their 20 overs, giving SA Law a victory by 26 runs.

Our next match is at 6.00pm on 2 August against Kingston Smith at Harpenden Cricket Ground, with the team: Omar Qassim, Simon Walsh, Nat Young, Terrence Trainor, Rik Patel, Andrew Nellist, Rob Ryall, Ben Ashworth, David Tanner, Guy Pettigrew and myself.

Author: Peter Goodman

On Friday 7 July it was time for my annual business trip to Silverstone for the Grand Prix and supporting races. The weekend always starts the same way. Before I can go to Silverstone I have to go elsewhere to collect my passes. Sometimes this can involve a trip as far north as Coventry but, on this occasion, I was lucky. My passes were in a hotel in Northampton, less than 20 miles from the circuit.

The journey, I’m very pleased to say,  was uneventful. I had a parking place inside the track. This is great in two ways, firstly it means that you can drive nearly the whole way to the Paddock and secondly you can feel very self important and smug, especially if the weather is bad. On the other hand, as many self important people discover each year, it can be a nightmare trying to leave the circuit.

Upon arrival I went to the GP2 hospitality complex and, to cut a long story short, spent most of the day there. The weather in Silverstone, on Friday 7 July was awful. Enough sunny intervals to encourage the unwary to venture out followed by a summer’s worth of sharp summer downpours. The TV screens showed many pictures of poor unfortunates, either with no umbrella or a demolished umbrella, bravely watching the cars, or were they boats, standing on one of Silverstone’s many uncovered grassy (muddy) banks.

After 5-6 hours in the hospitality area discussing international motorsport with the denizens of GP2 it was time to visit the F1 paddock.  It’s perhaps worth mentioning that GP2 is far more cosmopolitan than F1. In F1 nearly all of the teams are English, whereas GP2 is a good mix of British, French, Italian and German. This year Silverstone has a new F1 paddock (GP2 was in the old F1 paddock) and it seemed that most of the teams had new hospitality buildings, once called motor homes but now something out of a science fiction movie. It was the usual scene. A few lucky punters, who had somehow gained entry, showing their total lack of cool by walking up and down the Paddock looking for celebrities. Occasionally a race driver or a famous engineer would make an appearance, be mobbed by these people and retire back to their space craft swearing never to come out again. Incidentally, a word of advice from an experienced Paddock person – if you want to see somebody really famous like Rihanna or Nicole Scherzinger you have to be there early or stay really late. Autographs? Forget it!

Against this background I had a fairly tense meeting with a famous team owner and my client. It’s the usual thing. Brilliant young driver, experienced old team owner and a game of double bluff. Who will win? Watch for this blog next year.

Then followed brief but pleasant social visits to Williams, Force India and Red Bull catching up with longstanding colleagues and then it was time to get back to the car.

I finally got away just before 7pm and it was back to St Albans, not an easy journey. Firstly big queues out of the circuit – yes at 7pm on the Friday night, followed by fun and games through the road works on the M1.

The next day it was back to Silverstone for a non business day. I had only two tasks and both were pleasurable. Watching Paul di Resta in F1 qualifying and then watching the GP2 race. I had the usual dilemma – do you go early or late? Late is a big gamble but, in theory a great idea. As usual I didn’t have the nerve to go late and arrived at the circuit before 9.30.

Most of Saturday was like Friday all over again and like countless days spent as such places as Charlotte, Monaco, Monza, Indianapolis, Long Beach, Barcelona, Daytona and an endless list of seemingly exotic locations that are essentially the same place. One paddock is much the same as another and one hospitality area, once you’re inside, is much the same as the rest. The weather was a little better and there were more people about. Otherwise all looked exactly the same. The picture on the TV screen wasn’t great and at one point I got very excited when I thought that Alonso (Alo) was about to be eliminated in round one of qualifying when, in fact, it was Alguersuari (Alg).

Immediately after this came, for me, the highlight of the weekend. I had the right passes for a trip to the new pits at Silverstone and to be on the grid for the GP2 race. It’s great to be on the grid. You can get a good look at the cars and the drivers being prepared for the race plus that hopeful feeling that the eyes of the world are on you. Tiring quickly of the cars and drivers I noticed that there was an extremely attractive track marshal standing near my client’s car so I went up to her and said “It’s my first time on this grid.” “Yes”, she said “it’s everybody’s first time on this grid. It’s not been used before.” At this moment I felt elated and stupid at the same time. The various buzzers sounded and it was time to get off the grid before the race started and I walked back to my car watching the cars whiz by me as they did. I managed to leave the circuit by 4.30 and was rewarded with a swift journey home.

Sunday? I watched the race on TV like every other sensible person.

© SA LAW 2011
Every care is taken in the preparation of our articles. However, no responsibility can be accepted to any person who acts on the basis of information contained in them. You are recommended to obtain specific advice in respect of individual cases.

Author: Keith Docking

Following The Supreme Court decision in Radmacher -v- Granatino it is fair to say that a properly drafted pre or post nuptial agreement is more than likely to be upheld by a divorce court. That does not mean however that it is binding on the Court. Until Government legislates to say that these agreements are binding (presumably with certain safeguards for example ensuring children are properly supported) then they are going to be capable of challenge. The key when drafting an agreement is try to ensure that when they are scrutinised down line that they are attractive to a Judge. Certain tips might be to, for example, provide full financial disclosure, make sure each party has the benefit of legal advice and to provide for the other parties needs. It would be tough to defend, for example, an agreement that gave a party nothing after a long marriage.

Are these agreements only the domain of the rich and famous? Whilst it may be inappropriate to have a pre-nuptial in all cases, the following maybe examples where they should be considered:-

(a) significant pre-marital assets;
(b) second marriage;
(c) business assets including a business that has been in the family for a number of years;
(d) inheritance or future inheritance;
(e) where there are children of a previous marriage.

In the absence of an agreement excluding these assets from divorce they all go in the pot and the Court then decide how to divide the same.

For further information about our family services or to discuss a particular matter or situation in more detail, contact our lawyers Marilyn Bell or Keith Docking at our St Albans office by email at marilyn.bell@salaw.com or keith.docking@salaw.com or on 01727 798066.

© SA LAW 2011
Every care is taken in the preparation of our articles. However, no responsibility can be accepted to any person who acts on the basis of information contained in them. You are recommended to obtain specific advice in respect of individual cases.

Author: Chris Cook

I am pleased to report that the firm’s cricket team got off to a winning start to the season on Wednesday evening.

Having elected to field first, Sat and the skipper both set about the task of building a solid score with some good strokes before each retired having reached 25. Nat “Ian Trott” Young failed to live up to his own hype from having been promoted up the order after being cleaned bowled for 3, while Gary and Terrence also fell unusually cheaply. Debutant Ben’s innings was even shorter, a second ball duck, later claiming he was distracted by an earlier deposit left on his shirt by a slightly off-colour Nat Young. Ringer Omer (not Omar!) scored some priceless quick runs while Rik played an anchor role. Simon rolled back the years later in the innings, scampering some quick singles to lift the score to a very creditable 135 for 4 from 14 8-ball overs.

After having been smacked around in his first over, Sat didn’t fancy a second, diplomatically claiming that it would be better to “let the others have a go”. Ben and Terrence both bowled well although faced the best of the BF batsmen, with the latter picking up a well-deserved wicket during one of his more economical overs. Clearly upset about his batting failure, Gary was like a man possessed in the field, until electing to chase down a ball 50 yards away, launching himself into the hedge when heroically stopping the ball on the boundary, and leaving himself spread-eagled in the foliage for several seconds while the batsmen continued running. Hayley also staked a claim for a regular spot by outshining all of her colleagues in the field with some smart stops. With the opposition on 109 from 11 overs, Omer and the skipper bowled at the death but were assisted in the stronger batsmen retiring at a key time, with BF eventually reaching 126 from their 14 overs and SA Law winning by 9 runs.

Our next match is on Monday 18 July against Rayner Essex at Shenley, again with a 6pm start. The team is as follows: Terrence T, Simon, Gary, Omar, Chris A, Nat, Steven Frith, Guy Pettigrew, Josh Rose, Hayley and me. Spectators would again be welcome as always.

Author: Alexis Asher

The News of the World is set to close after 168 years, having been accused of hacking into the phone lines of various individuals. Approximately 200 News of the World staff face redundancy, ranging from its editor Colin Myler, to advertising, marketing, administration and other editorial staff. Redundancy consultation is now thought to have begun.

Last night, journalists at the Sun newspaper had walked out in protest to demonstrate support for their colleagues at News of the World. News International has, as yet, refused to comment on rumours that the Sun could now become a seven-day-a-week operation.

The unfolding of the phone hacking crisis earlier this week led to several News of the World advertisers suspending their advertising with the paper until the police investigations into the hacking allegations had been completed. Ford was the first advertiser to announce it was to pull advertising from Sunday’s News of the World.

Controversially, the News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks is not yet thought to be losing her job, despite being the editor of the News of the World at the time of some of the alleged hacking. The Prime minister has commented today that Ms Brooks’ resignation was reportedly offered, and that this should, in his view, have been accepted by James and Rupert Murdoch. David Cameron has also reassured the public that his administration will be launching a full judicial review into the phone hacking.

The paper is set to print its last edition this Sunday, without any advertising. However the forthcoming investigations mean this will not be the last we hear of the News of the World.

Author: Chris Alexander

After watching this weeks Dispatches programme on Channel 4 (Landlords from Hell), I thought that it might be useful to summarise a number of the legal issues raised by John Snow in his investigation of the private rental market.

The main issues raised were:

• Unlawful eviction
• Rent Control
• Disrepair
• Overcrowding/HMO’s
• Sale and rent back agreements

I have written an article which you can read by clicking here looking at the various offences that landlords can commit and the private remedies that exist for tenants.

My own view is that the programme recognised that the legal remedies exist to punish rogue landlords but that local housing authorities have been woefully inadequate in prosecuting those offences.  Further, the types of tenant worst affected are those with low incomes with the least practical access to justice especially as legal aid becomes increasingly scarce.

I tend to act more for landlords than for tenants in these cases and anecdotally, many private landlords feel that the balance is stacked too heavily in favour of the tenant, for example it generally takes at least three months to evict a tenant with rent arrears.  My own view is that the private market is not currently well suited to low income or housing benefit tenants who often require greater overall support than most small scale private landlord’s can afford to offer; but Grant Shapps showed little appetite for changing the status quo in his interview.

Click here to read the full  Dispatches Landlords from Hell article.

For further information about our Property Litigation services or to discuss a particular matter or situation in more detail, contact Chris Alexander at our St Albans office by email at chris.alexander@salaw.com or on 01727 798000.

© SA LAW 2011
Every care is taken in the preparation of our articles. However, no responsibility can be accepted to any person who acts on the basis of information contained in them. You are recommended to obtain specific advice in respect of individual cases.