Founded in 2006, Spear’s is a bimonthly British Magazine for ultra high-network individuals and for the people who advise them, focusing on the latest news surrounding wealth, business culture and luxury. 

Spear’s annually publish rankings on the top International Private Wealth advisers and service providers to high-networth individuals. These rankings are drawn from peer recommendations, feedback from clients, in-depth telephone and face-to-face interviews, data supplied by firms, as well as research conducted by the Spear’s editorial and research teams.

Nicole Marmor, Partner and Head of Private Wealth at Sherrards, was ranked alongside just four other “Top Recommended” International Private Wealth Lawyers for Probate and Wills for high-networth individuals in the UK. 

Nicole says “I am very grateful to the Spear’s team for the time and effort put in to be recognised as a top lawyer among so much talent. It is great to see a range of individuals showcased for their expertise and drive within the probate legal industry.”

If you would like to speak to Nicole, or a member of the Private Wealth department, please contact law@sherrards.com

To see the rankings on the Spear’s website, click here.

To see Nicole’s profile on Spear’s, click here. 

This ambitious expansion was flawlessly orchestrated through a strategic alliance with the Commercial Property team at Sherrards, under the guidance of Terry Fendt.

PLAYGROUND Brand’s Dance Legacy Broadens Its Horizon. Boasting acclaimed studios in LA, Playground London stands as the newest addition to the illustrious PLAYGROUND Brand, gearing up to offer master classes and dynamic daily sessions helmed by industry-leading choreographers.

Seamless Expansion: Thanks to the diligence and expertise of the Commercial Property team, Playground LA Limited secured a smooth lease agreement, culminating in a mid-July completion. With eager anticipation, PLAYGROUND LONDON is poised to swing its doors open on Oct 2nd!

Frequented by stars like Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber, and associated with brands such as Nike and Adidas, Playground LA’s legacy is set to continue in London. Dive into the PLAYGROUND brand and check out PLAYGROUND LONDON.

Abroo Khan, has now qualified from the Sherrards Training Academy and will be joining the Private Wealth team as a Solicitor.

Abroo has been a trainee with the firm now for just over two years, where she has been working alongside various departments, such as Commercial Property, Dispute Resolution, Corporate and Commercial, in order to grow her knowledge and understanding of the legal world.

Partner and Head of Private Wealth, Nicole Marmor, says, “It is brilliant news to have Abroo join our growing team. We have seen how hard she has worked throughout her time as part of the Sherrards Training Academy and we look forward to seeing her grow in her career with us.” 

With regards to our Trainee Solicitors,

Max Marmor joins the Commercial Property team as a Trainee Solicitor in London, after working alongside the Dispute Resolution team and  Commercial Property team as a paralegal for the past year.

We also congratulate Mike Jenkins who is promoted to Trainee Solicitor in the Commercial Property team in St Albans, after working alongside the team there for the past 10 months.

Lastly, we welcome Gabriel Cooke as a Trainee Solicitor to the Corporate and Commercial team in St Albans. Gabriel has been working alongside both the Employment, and Corporate and Commercial teams as a legal Admin Assistant for the past 7 months.

Sherrards Trainee Academy Partner, Michael Lewis says, “It is fantastic to see the Trainee Academy grow and see three excellent members of the team stay with us to begin their career as lawyers. We look forward to supporting them on their route to becoming Solicitors. I am also delighted that Abroo is qualifying with the firm after a highly successful training contract with us.”

What is the Chamber & Partners Legal Directory?

A Chambers & Partners ranking indicates that your Firm, and departments within it, have excelled in their area of legal expertise. A band one ranking is the top level and, means the Firm is highlighted as one of very few Firms with a similar level of expertise.

In order to retain her Band one status, Nicole was assessed on the following qualities:

• Technical Legal Ability
• Professional Conduct
• Client Service
• Commercial Astuteness
• Diligence
• Commitment

Within the directory, one client commented that “Nicole was a great pleasure to work with. I felt that I received a high level of service from a very knowledgeable expert in her field.”

Nicole says: “This is a great accolade which helps to show talent and clients alike that Sherrards continue to be at the top of our game. I am so grateful for such a supportive, close-knit team who continue to ensure we rank highly in the legal directories.”

A huge thank you to our referees for providing commentary on Nicole and her team, and the private wealth team for working hard to achieve this ranking in the High Net-worth Guide. 

Click here to see the ranking on the Chambers and Partners website.

The Community Business Awards celebrate the outstanding contribution that both individuals and businesses have made in the St Albans District and the perfect opportunity to showcase achievements to clients, suppliers, stakeholders, and the local business community. The awards are put on by the St Albans District Chamber of Commerce, who provide a platform to connect with fellow businesses in St Albans and the surrounding areas of Harpenden, London Colney, Redbourn, Sandridge and Wheathampstead.

Abby started with us as a Marketing Apprentice, just under two years ago, where she has recently qualified as a Marketing Assistant. She continues to work hard, helping the Marketing team and departments across the board.

Sophie Hudson, Head of Marketing & Business Development at Sherrards said “I am so proud of Abby. She has been a great addition and continues to be a bundle of positivity. Her ideas are refreshing and help to modernise our Marketing. Abby is already a winner in our eyes!”

The Young Employee of the Year Award recognises stand-out young business stars across the St Albans Business District, where they must be under 30 years old and in the business for 5 years or less.

We are really pleased that Abby is a finalist for this award and wish her the best of luck for the award ceremony in November.

Thank you to everyone that nominated.

Solicitors Rebecca Daniels (Private Wealth) and James Crook (Corporate and Commercial) recently represented the firm at the Alliott Global Alliance “Impact Academy”, a two day event held in Lisbon at the end of May.

The event was attended by representatives from member firms from across the Alliott Global Alliance and focused on developing career skills, outlining practical measures on how to make a positive “impact”. Seminars were led by instructors Joanna Keeling and Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, who provided attendees with practical strategies to enhance their professional growth and maximize their impact in their respective fields.

Rebecca said “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting such a talented group of people in Lisbon. I am very grateful to Sherrards for the opportunity to attend this enriching and insightful course. It was my first in-person experience of the Alliott Global Alliance and I am already convinced of its effectiveness.”

“It was a real pleasure to spend time in the company of so many impressive people from around the Alliance, and I hope we can build on the connections made there in the future. Lisbon was a wonderful choice of venue and I am grateful to our instructors at the Impact Academy for sharing their wisdom and advice”, said James.

With 220 member firms in 94 countries, spreading across 253 cities in 6 continents, Alliott Global Alliance is one of the leading organisations of its kind, providing Sherrards with global reach.

Read more about the trip here in this article published by the Alliott Global Alliance.

Written by James Crook and Rebecca Daniels. 

However, in a significant judgment, the Supreme Court have unanimously ruled that a health charity can qualify for mandatory 80% relief from non-domestic rates in respect of a health and fitness club it runs, clarifying a well-established legal principle.

This ruling makes clear that where a charity is using premises for its core charitable purposes, the charity should be entitled to mandatory rates relief.

This decision will deliver some much-needed reassurance to charities on this point.

The case centred upon a members-only gym in Merton, South-West London, run by health giant, Nuffield Health.

The local authority had initially withheld rating relief on the grounds that Nuffield was operating a commercial gym that had no public benefit. In particular, they argued that the membership subscriptions charged put this facility out of reach of many in the community.

However, the Supreme Court (upholding the decisions of the lower courts) thought otherwise, finding that Nuffield “plainly uses the Merton Abbey gym for the direct fulfilment of those charitable purposes”. Nuffield qualified for business rates relief, after all.

Speaking about the judgment, Charities law expert and partner, Shane Knight commented:

“Rating relief is several billion pounds a year for the third sector. Without this decision, many charities would have faced massive hardship at a time when we are all still feeling the chill wind of a cost-of-living crisis.  Charities should also be aware that there is a further discretionary rating relief that they can apply for directly from their local authority.”

Sherrards Partner, Guy Morgan, observed: “The decision removes any doubt on this point.  Any landlord must also take this into account, when letting property to a tenant”.

Based in London and St Albans, Sherrards Solicitors has a large team of specialist lawyers acting for charities and those in the health and social care sector.

For further information, please contact law@sherrards.com 

Leading food manufacturer, Around Noon, has acquired the Soho Sandwich Company to create an enlarged group with 800 employees.

Partner in the Corporate & Commercial department at Sherrards Solicitors, Leigh Head, supported the Soho Sandwich Company through the acquisition alongside Senior Associate Emma O’Meara from our Employment department who dealt with the Employment aspects.

They worked alongside WMT Chartered Accountants, ensuring a smooth deal.  

Around Noon was created over 30 years ago in Northern Ireland, and is now one of the major food producers and distributors in the UK.

The company will remain to be overseen by its current Managing Director, Daniel Silverston, as the company will continue to operate under its own brand inside the Around Noon group.

Daniel Silverston announced the deal in London on the 7^th of June 2023, where the story has now been released on BBC news and other various food article websites.

Click here to read the press release from The Food Manufacture

Click here to read the press release from Just Food

The client/Defendant to the claim is a Central European company specialising in the production of aluminium profiles. 

A dispute arose between the parties arising out of the contract for the supply of aluminium billets, in respect of which the Claimant sought payment which the client was resisting, on the basis that the contract mechanism for determining price had not been followed and that the billets delivered were not of satisfactory quality, which caused it loss.

Karen Dobson, Partner at Sherrards, managed to negotiate an early settlement of the dispute, following the commencement of arbitration proceedings.

The settlement was very favourable to the client and resulted in it avoiding significant legal costs which would have been incurred in a fully-contested arbitration.

This has been an ongoing debate in this area for many years, and one that the firm is familiar with, having interacted with Indian law firms and business interests passing back and forth between the UK and India for some time. 

Paul Marmor, our Head of International Services and the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department, was asked for his views on the changes to India’s legal service, which are set out in this article published by the International Bar Association, which sets the scene with input from a number of commentators including Paul, as to what may happen over the next few years: click here to read the article. 

For more information on our work relating to Indian concerns, please reach out to Paul and the International team on the details below.