header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

Banking on UCTA

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
05 February 2009
Issue: 7355 / Categories: Opinion , Company , Banking , Commercial
printer mail-detail

Christopher Coffin & Sarah Quilliam look for guarantees in commercial contracts

Barclays Bank plc v Alfons Kufner [2008] EWHC 2319, [2008] All ER (D) 102 (Oct) establishes that the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2083) do, contrary to previous authority, apply to a guarantee—however it restricts the circumstances in which a guarantor will have their protection. As a result, the claimant bank was able to rely on a term excluding its equitable duty not to impair or release securities. The decision also extends the reflective loss principle so that loss suffered by a guarantor, if also a shareholder, is not separate and distinct from the company’s loss.

Factual background
Barclays Bank plc (the bank) made a loan to an Isle of Man company, Kel, owned and controlled by Mr Kufner (AK). AK is a German national with a background in the manufacture of car parts. The loan was to enable Kel to purchase a yacht and was secured by a personal guarantee from AK and a mortgage on the yacht. The yacht

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Read All
Public Accounts Committee warn of ‘extinction’ risk for legal aid
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
NLJ this week: The insider returns
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
NLJ this week: Drawing the line on contempt
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
NLJ this week: Stop and search by the numbers
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
NLJ this week: Looking back on the prorogation that never was
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll