Compulsory purchase
R (L1T FM Holdings Ltd and Letterone Core Investments Sàrl) v Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office [2025] EWCA Civ 1528
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a judgment of the Administrative Court which had rejected a claim for judicial review of a ‘final order’ made under s 26(3) of the National Security and Investment Act 2021. The order required the appellant to divest its 100% shareholding in Upp Corporation Ltd, a fibre broadband start-up company, due to national security risks arising from the ultimate beneficial ownership of the LetterOne Group by certain Russian nationals creating vulnerability to leverage by the Russian state. The appellants argued that they suffered financial loss because they could not obtain fair market value in the forced sale and that Art 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights required compensation beyond what they obtained from the sale. The court held that the principle of proportionality was satisfied without additional compensation, as the appellants were able to conduct a sale in the open market and
