Solicitors must take care when handling client accounts, warns Simon Love
In Adelle Challinor v Juliet Bellis & Co [2013] EWHC 347 (Ch), the claimants were a collection of high net worth individuals. For many years, they had invested in property schemes devised by a Mr Egan in his capacity as a director of a property advisory and management company Egan Lawson Limited. These schemes usually involved the creation of a property owning SPV which had the word “Albemarle” in its title.
In 2006, Egan Lawson Ltd was purchased by Erinaceous Group Plc and Egan Lawson Ltd changed its name to Erinaceous Commercial Services Ltd (ECS). ECS continued Egan Lawson’s role as a deviser of property transactions for investors and various schemes (Albemarle Shoreham, Albemarle Croydon and others) were devised and implemented by ECS.
Some investors participated in these schemes as equity investors rather than lenders. The schemes were intended to be tax efficient, and often had complex structures.
In Spring 2007, Erinaceous Group Plc alighted upon a transaction involving the purchase of
