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10 July 2009 / James Naylor , Claire Southway
Issue: 7377 / Categories: Features , Landlord&tenant , Property
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A binding agreement?

How can landlords guarantee they receive rent payments when insolvency looms? James Naylor & Claire Southway investigate

Can a landlord have its cake and eat it? Or, in the case of Cotswold Company Limited subnom Threadneedle Pensions Ltd v Asher Miller [2009] EWHC 1151 (Ch), can a landlord make a claim under a company voluntary arrangement for future rent, irrespective of an express surrender ending the tenant’s leasehold rights and the right to occupy and use the premises?

The Cotswold Company Limited (the company) was a tenant of retail premises pursuant to a lease (the lease) of 15 years from 7 March 2003 at an initial rent of £100,000 per annum. The lease imposed standard obligations on the company to pay rent and service charge and to keep the premises in repair during and at the end of the term.

On 21 December 2006, the company put forward proposals for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) under Pt I of the Insolvency Act 1986. By this point the company had vacated the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Veteran funds specialist joins investment funds team

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
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A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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