Peter Vaines discusses principles, stale discoveries & the downside of holiday property lets
- Share valuation.
- Business Property Relief.
- Discovery assessments.
The recent case of Cosmetic Warriors Ltd v Andrew Gerrie [2017] EWCA Civ 324, [2017] All ER (D) 48 (May) had some interesting things to say about the principles for valuing unquoted shares. In this case, the dispute related to the proper interpretation of the company’s Articles of Association which provided a formula for the valuation of the shares, to be used in various circumstances.
Mr Gerrie held approximately 11% of the shares in the company (and his wife had a further 10%). The majority shareholders were a Mr and Mrs Constantine who between them owned 62% of the company shares.
The Articles of the company provided that in the event of a shareholder giving a notice, or ceasing to be an employee, the shares could be purchased by the company at an agreed price—failing that at the median price certified by two independent chartered accountants as being the fair value as between a willing buyer and a willing seller,
