Property
Lisa Linklater K.C. is a leading silk with an established reputation nationally for her expertise, advocacy, advice and strategic excellence in Chancery, Commercial Dispute Resolution and Insolvency/Restructuring. Lisa is recommended as a Band 1 silk in these practice areas by Chambers and Partners UK Bar 2024 and Legal 500 UK Bar 2024.
Lisa Linklater K.C.’s property practice comprises:
- All issues as to mortgages, debentures and other forms of security, particularly in a corporate and personal insolvency context;
- Law of Property Act receiverships;
- Disputes concerning substantial property portfolios, often jointly owned and involving the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996;
- Express, resulting and constructive trusts;
- Proprietary estoppel (often disputes within families and relating to farms, frequently also involving partnership issues); and
- Shareholder, joint venture and partnership disputes within the property sector and/or involving commercial, agricultural or residential property and/or property development.
Lisa is noted not only for her technical excellence and expertise in written and oral advocacy, but also for her commercial, creative, collaborative, strategic and practical approach to advancing her clients’ objectives.
Lisa brings over 25 years of experience in advising and representing a diverse range of companies, individuals, Government departments and other public sector bodies.
Recent highlights include:
- Acting in respect of a public contract relating to substantial property development (2023).
- Successfully securing in HCt, BPC the dismissal of an application for an interim injunction to prevent a finance house from enforcing its security in respect of a substantial property development, involving a debt of over £1 million (2023).
- Advising LPA receivers and lender in respect of priority between a debenture and option agreement, involving lending of £9 million (2023).
- Cleveland Bridge UK Limited (in administration): Successfully secured directions from the High Court for joint administrators of a former global leader in the design of complex structures including the Shard on a complex application relating to the distribution of £7 million. The application involved novel issues relating to fixed and floating charges, the equitable doctrine of marshalling, substantial preferential creditor claims by HM Revenue and Customs and Saudi law (2022).
- Successfully acted for construction company in claim for specific performance of contract to purchase land with a contract value of £4m in a dispute that had lasted 10 years (2020 – 2021).
- Acting in a factually and legally complex property dispute spanning 40 years within a family in respect of a property portfolio valued at c. £4m and alleged partnership, in which she led other Counsel (2020).
- Successfully defending a claim under a joint venture agreement and by proprietary estoppel to a valuable quarry at a 2 week trial (2016 – 2019).
- Representing a partner in an enviable Yorkshire Wolds arable farm with a value of over £6 million in defending a claim to the entirety of the farm (2017 – 2018).
- Successfully realising an investment in valuable crowd-funded property development company in Cheshire for shareholders by just and equitable petition (2018).
- Acting for a high-profile retailer in defending emergency proceedings for the delivery up of items in the high-street stores it was occupying (2018).
- Advising in respect of trust issues following a pre-pack sale of 40,000 individual voluntary arrangements.
Lisa is also a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Business Law and Practice at the University of Leeds.
Property Cases
In addition to the above recent highlights, further illustrations of Lisa’s experience in real property is as follows:
REAL PROPERTY AND RELATED CLAIMS
- Currently acting in respect of substantial commercial and residential portfolio and related allegations of unfair prejudice under s994 Companies Act 2006 (2023).
- Currently acting in respect of very substantial property portfolio in claim involving allegations of sham (2023).
- Representing a purchaser of a pharmaceutical business from administrators in claim by landlord for dilapidations and unpaid rent. Landlord is relying upon Jervis v Pillar Denton Ltd for priority over other creditors (2017) (HCt).
- Advice as to whether a grant by a charity to a company in liquidation was held on Quistclose trusts (2016).
- Successfully defending injunctive relief proceedings brought by a major manufacturer of bed products that had purchased a portfolio of properties from administrators in a “fire sale”, relying on an alleged overriding interest. The claim centred on allegations of civil fraud and was related to high profile criminal proceedings relating to the premises (2016) (HCt).
- Successfully obtaining a settlement sufficient to clear the debts and expenses of the bankruptcy by establishing a proprietary interest in the estate of the former spouse of the bankrupt (2013).
SECURITY INCLUDING LPA RECEIVERSHIPS
- Advising a peer to peer pawn broking platform in respect of loans secured against six ships (2017).
- Advised assignee of mortgages and guarantees on alleged undue influence in context of investment property in the North West (2015).
- Firstpoint Security Trustee Ltd v Enterprise House Development Ltd & ors: Acted for Law of Property Act receivers of a hotel in the Midlands in successfully defending injunctive proceedings brought by second charge holder and securing payment of the costs and expenses of the receivers (2014)(HCt).
- Paragon Mortgages Ltd v MP[2011] All ER (D) 65 (David Steel J) Acted for borrower in multi-million pound claims under guarantees and on personal mortgages of buy to let properties in Leeds in circumstances where LPA receivers had been appointed.
TRUSTS GENERALLY
- Representing trustee of shares in directions application involving issues including missing beneficiaries (2018) (HCt).
- Advising in a High Court claim involving an alleged trust of shares in a valuable company (2018).
- Acted for the trustees of “fighting fund” in application relating to use of the fund in legal proceedings relating to a tax scheme. The case to which the fund relates is high profile (2016) (HCt).
- Advised trustees of trust on the implications of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for the trust (2015).
- Represented former employee in claim based on promised interest in shares by owners/directors, relying upon trusts analysis. The case was further complicated because shares had been swapped into a major international company.
PARTNERSHIP DISPUTES
- Successfully acted for defendant to claims of approximately £1 million in respect of solicitors’ partnership in legally and factually complex claim involving property portfolio. Case involved complex limitation issues and an entangled factual history (2020 – 2022).
- Acting in a factually and legally complex property dispute spanning 40 years in HCt within a family in respect of a property portfolio valued at c. £4m and alleged partnership, in which she led other Counsel (2020).
- Representing a partner in a family farming partnership in a dispute involving an enviable Yorkshire Wolds arable farm valued in excess of £6 million in which a proprietary estoppel claim was made (2017 – 2018).
