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| THE NEWS FROM CHARLES COOK & COMPANY SOLICITORS |
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February 2012 - Jonathan Webb joins Charles Cook & Company
We have appointed a new head of property, Jonathan Webb, who has joined us from Beachcrofts and Veale Wasbrough.
Jonathan is a very experienced property lawyer and has taken over from Gillian Dawson.
Jonathan has a wealth of experience in all property related matters and is contactable on jonathan.webb@cookco.co.uk and 07540 633389. |
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January 2012 – lovecars.com
Charles Cook and Owen James have acted for lovecars.com on all legal matters relating to the set up of their new global car social networking website.
“This is a really exciting and high profile project “ commented Charles Cook “This further enhances our national reputation in acting for internet companies and advising on all aspects of internet and corporate related legal issues”.
The firm advised on private equity finance, intellectual property protection, data protection, privacy, company secretarial and commercial contracts /online terms and conditions.
The site is due to launch in 2012. |
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January 2012 – Viva Las Vegas
Charles Cook has attended the much coveted 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Charles has a number of clients in the electronics industry who participated at the show. |
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January 2012 – Chris Scroggs acts for Park Lane supercar dealer Bob Forstner
Charles Cook & Company have been retained by renowned supercar dealer Bob Forstner.
Bob Forstner is the main dealer for supercar brand Spyker in the UK and is well known internationally for stocking a large range of exotic supercars including Paganis, Koenigsegg, Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Ferrari’s. They trade from prestigious premises in Park Lane, Mayfair.
Chris Scroggs is currently undertaking a number of matters for the company.
“We are delighted to be acting for Bob Forstner” said Charles Cook “the firm has a real specialism in this sector and acts for a large number of high profile figures in the motor industry”. |
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December 2011 – Charles Cook & Company acts for Clist & Rattle
Charles Cook & Company have acted for local motor dealer, Clist & Rattle, in respect of the grant of a lease of their premises in Portishead to Autolink.
The company was established in 1922 and has a long history in the Bristol area. They have integrated their Renault operation to their Skoda and Proton premises in Flax Bourton. |
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December 2011 - Charles Cook meets with Liam Fox MP
Charles Cook and Vicki White met with Liam Fox and Nick Humphries of www.givingabit.com at the firm’s offices in Kestrel Court which are based in Liam’s constituency.
Charles Cook is the company lawyer for the online community purchasing website which makes charitable donations every time a corporate or individual makes a purchase online. |
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November 2011 - Long Established Client of the Firm Awarded Landlord of the Year
Charles Cook & Company are delighted that their long established client, Condor Properties, has been awarded landlord of the year for both Wales and the South West at the prestigious Landlords and Letting Awards 2011/2012.
Condor Properties own and manage all of their well equipped properties and offer a fresh approach to student accommodation.
The firm has acted on various property and corporate matters for the company including purchasing two halls of residence from Exeter University. |
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October 2011 - Charles Cook & Company act for new national community giving website
The corporate team at Charles Cook & Company have acted for the new national website www.givingabit.com on various corporate, company secretarial and intellectual property matters.
'givingabit' is a free service that enables you to form communities and support a chosen cause every time you shop online for business or pleasure purchases. Due to their unique model, you can see the total amounts raised by all your members. It is perfect for businesses to compliment a charity or corporate & social responsibility strategy, or for like minded individuals who want to join together for a common cause. The 'givingabit' retailer partners, such as Vodafone, Boden and Sainsburys make a 'thank you donation' every time a member shops with them via 'givingabit' at no extra cost to the consumer. You can also benefit from up to the minute discount and voucher codes, enabling the consumer to save.
Charles Cook and Owen James have worked closely with Nick Humphreys (founder and CEO) and his team during 2011 from inception of the concept to the launch. Nick said "Charles Cook was recommended to me after I struggled to find a legal partner who could deliver a fixed price and personal service. Not only did I get a clear pricing structure up front, but a team of people who understand my business, and add value as to where and how we can take the business. The knowledge of Charles and Owen in the web and retail area have been reassuring, and their pro-active approach to my various requirements from intellectual property to contractual agreements means that I know I have a legal team that will be supporting my business for the foreseeable future."
“This is a very exciting project with massive potential to change the way consumers shop and give to good causes“ said Charles Cook “the legal issues concerning terms and conditions on any online consumer based website are crucial and we urge any company who is involved in online trading to take legal advice on their terms of business to ensure they are both compliant and protect the company.”
The firm has now worked on a number of high profile web projects in a variety of different genres and it goes to demonstrate our ability, prowess and national reputation in the sector. |
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October 2011 - Williams Sports Cars Launch the Morgan "3 wheeler"
Charles Cook attended the launch of the new Williams Sport Cars showroom in Horton, Chipping Sodbury. The launch was held in conjunction with Coutts & Co and featured an exclusive look at the new Morgan 3 wheeler as well as the old classic Morgan 3 wheeler and other Morgan and sportscars.
Charles Cook & Company acted for the family in respect of the the disposal of their large Bristol based Mazda, Saab and Landrover dealership earlier in the year to Vertu Motors Plc and various legal arrangements in respect of the setup of the new business.
The Williams family have been operating as car dealers in Bristol for over 100 years and they are set to do so for a long time to come with their new bespoke upmarket showroom and range of sportcars and main dealer facilities for Morgan. |
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September 2011 – Charles Cook acts for well known guitar dealer
Charles Cook has just acted for Bristol based international classic and rock guitar dealer Steve Treble of “Treble Rock” in relation to a corporate matter.
Treble Rock operate from premises in Clifton and are renowned for stocking and dealing in high profile guitars. |
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August 2011 - Chris Scroggs of Bristol solicitors Charles Cook & Company looks at some recent issues of credit control and debt recovery
Pay up or else......
Many more clients are approaching us complaining that customers are taking longer to pay their accounts. Invoices increasingly are being paid far outside normal payment terms, if paid at all.
We help companies and private individuals recover money owed to them by clients or customers. In the current economic climate, cashflow is crucial. Most accounts staff will have a few bad payers on their ledgers. The problem is they can strangle a business.
Our aim is ensuring you get paid. We can help by reviewing your credit control procedures. We will give you help and guidance on how to unlock bad debtors and implement tighter credit control procedures. We can set up standard template letters. A letter from you may be enough; if not and the debt is still owed, we will step in and pursue it for you.
We can also help if you have lent money or provided a product or service to an insolvent individual or company. We will work with you to recover any sums owed and we will liaise with insolvency practitioners and any other professionals on your behalf.
If the company or individual is still trading, very often a solicitor’s letter will make them realise you are taking this debt seriously and urgent payment is required. If further action is required we can also help with court action or winding up proceedings against debtors who just refuse to pay.
If an apparently simple debt case becoming contested our expertise in litigation comes into play; we will handle the court process and your case will be dealt with by the same solicitor from start to finish.
With 25 years experience in debt recovery and litigation we regularly salvage potentially disastrous situations for clients and help them get paid; often in cases that would otherwise have been written off as a bad debt or where the prospect of going to court, dissuaded a client from standing their ground.
We can deal with any size of debt and offer a variety of fee arrangements to suit our clients. |
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August 2011 - Chris Scroggs comments on holiday claims and the collapse of yet another travel operator, Holidays4UK
Holiday joy or hell......?
The recent Holidays4UK episode is a pointed reminder of how not to get caught out when booking your holiday. Another budget holiday provider finally found it had sold below cost for too long. Holidays4UK called in the administrators leaving 12,800 people potentially stranded and 20,000 more customers who had paid, losing their holiday.
Some tips:- first, ensure your holiday is booked with an ATOL registered provider, this will give you a safety net if the company later ceases trading. Decent travel insurance is essential; take it out the moment you book your holiday. A decent level of insurance cover may not get all your money back, but if the airline fails you will be able to recover the costs of rooms booked, excursions and so forth. Check if your policy pays out in the event of your holiday provider going bust.
Top of the priority list when booking your holiday is to pay for your holiday on a credit or Visa debit card. Why? Because if you do and you pay £100-£30,000 you can claim compensation if the service is not delivered; you have the same rights against the card company as you do against the holiday company.
More often, the problems start when you arrive on your holiday and more holiday claims are pursued now with issues such as cramped or dirty accommodation, no children’s’ club, insect infestations, noisy discos, dirty pools, surly waiters, bad food.... the list of holiday complaints is endless.
At Charles Cook & Company we will handle your claim from start to finish. We will formulate your case and write to the airline or travel provider on your behalf and liaise with your credit card company in claiming the cost of your holiday and any other losses you have incurred. We have dealt with many holiday company disputes acting for holidaymakers who have had issues whilst on holiday, resulting in claims. We can offer this service on a “no win no fee” basis. |
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August 2011 - Charles Cook & Co act for luxury brand Moncrief
Charles Cook & Co act for luxury brand Moncrief in private equity investment. The transaction was led by Charles Cook who was assisted by Owen James.
Charles said “we were delighted to act for this exciting company in this matter”. One of the founders of the Moncrief brand was previously the original creative force behind the retail chain Jigsaw. |
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King of the Castle: Protecting your property investments & the law
At a gathering of about 70 actual and potential buy-to let-investors in Richmond, London, Gillian Dawson Head of Property at Charles Cook & Co covered key aspects to consider in both purchasing and letting a property with the aim of profit.
Protection of the buy-to-let property as a physical asset and the income stream were threads that ran through the talk:
- Choosing the property;
- Buying the property: legal searches investigations & enquiries;
- Preparing to let: the Tenancy Agreement; choosing a managing agent; the deposit; safety checks
- Protecting your income stream:
- Trouble shooting: when things go wrong ; using the law to deal with problems e.g. tenants who do not pay or damage the property
Property law is the framework within which the above points were considered.
Gillian gave tips for what to include in a tenancy agreement, particularly which covenants are appropriate for the property (pets, carpets (to reduce noise) and covenants against hanging out washing in a “posh area” for example. The temptation is to simply accept the standard tenancy agreement offered by the managing agent which is not recommended.
Gillian also highlighted some new law which Buy- to- Let landlords will need to consider:
- Landlords will not be able to let a property which is below an Energy Rating of “E” from 2018;
- From 2016 Tenants will be able to demand reasonable improvements to properties in poor condition
- New Stamp Duty Land Tax relief on multiple purchases: where the purchases are linked (eg several flats in a block) depending on the facts in each case
- The case of Scullion v Bank of Scotland plc (t/a Colleys) [2011] EWCA Civ 693 (17 June 2011): in which the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court Decision that a valuer owed a duty of care to a by to let purchaser
The case of Scullion is noteworthy in that the Court commented that those buying properties for investment purposes were “less deserving of protection by the common law against risk of negligence than those buying to occupy as their residence”. The motto is that any purchasers should not rely on a property valuation commissioned by the lender; the purchaser should get their own valuation and then check if there is a disclaimer in the agreement with the valuer.
The session closed with a questions & answers session; those attending the seminar proved an enlightening source of case histories and ‘war stories’ regarding their experiences as buy-to- let landlords, including commercial lets.
Quite a lot to consider if you are new to the buy-to-let market or even an experienced trooper.
Contact Gillian Dawson if you need help with your buy-to-let legal problems. |
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July 2011 – Gillian Dawson talks at London conference
Head of Property at Charles Cook & Company has spoken at a property and investment seminar in London. Gillian spoke along side specialist tax advisor, Anton Lane at the prestigious event and provided an informative session on asset protection, property and planning matters. In previous years Charles has regularly spoken at the conference. |
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