Business details

  • VAT number: 502782602

Overview

Stuart has a broad commercial chancery practice covering most areas of Chambers’ work. Stuart’s main areas of practice include:

  • Commercial and contractual disputes (including warranty, guarantee and misrepresentation claims)
  • Commercial and civil fraud claims
  • Corporate, partnership, shareholder and director disputes (including director disqualification proceedings)
  • Banking and finance litigation
  • Breach of employee, partner or director restrictive covenants including breach of confidence
  • Insolvency (corporate and personal)
  • Professional liability (including claims against solicitors, surveyors, architects, accountants and financial advisers and regulatory/disciplinary proceedings)
  • Property litigation (including real property, landlord and tenant, mortgages and trusts)
  • Contentious probate, trusts and inheritance disputes
  • Sports law regulatory/disciplinary proceedings
  • Employment law disputes

Stuart regularly appears in the High Court and the County Court (both at first instance and on appeal), the Court of Appeal and on appeals to the Supreme Court.  In addition, Stuart regularly appears at commercial arbitrations and in a wide range of regulatory tribunals and hearings. Stuart is happy both as sole counsel and being led by or as part of large legal team.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Stuart was a solicitor for 14 years and a partner and solicitor-advocate in the commercial litigation team of leading national law firm based in the Midlands.

Terms of Business

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Stuart accepts instructions under the Standard Conditions of Contract for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Authorised Persons 2020, a copy of which can be found here.

Stuart is prepared to consider acting on different terms, such as the COMBAR Terms, by mutual agreement.

Public Access

Stuart undertakes Public Access work. Please see the Bar Standard Board’s Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients here.

Upon accepting instructions, Stuart or his Clerks will agree the basis upon which the Public Access client is to be charged for the work to be done. In direct access cases, fees (plus VAT) will be charged on a stage by stage fixed fee basis, which will be set by reference to the nature and complexity of the case, the amount of reading and research involved, the likely length of any hearing, and Stuart’s experience in that area of law. The agreed fee (together with the VAT) must be paid as soon as Stuart accepts instructions on the case.

Stuart is not authorised to conduct litigation. This means that Public Access clients will need to do certain things themselves. That includes issuing proceedings, filing documents at Court, and serving documents on other parties.

VAT

Stuart is registered for VAT. His number is 502782602.

Cases of interest

Commercial and Chancery (including Property and Insolvency)

  • Secret Commission Claims [2022-2026]
    Continuing to act (as sole counsel) and being led in relation numerous claims either: (i) brought by commercial customers against its energy supplier who claimed that payments made by the energy supplier to the customer’s broker were secret or half-secret commissions and should be repaid to the customer by the energy supplier as compensation for restitutionary loss (under the common tort of bribery) or as equitable compensation (under the equitable claim for accessory liability for breach of fiduciary duty); or (ii) brought by borrowers seeking commercial secured lending or residential secured lending by way of second charge against lenders for paying secret commissions to the borrower’s broker seeking repayment of the commission as compensation for restitutionary loss (under the common tort of bribery) or as equitable compensation (under the equitable claim for accessory liability for breach of fiduciary duty) together with rescission of the mortgage or loan.
  • Gill v Anand & Anr
    Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court on a claim for £3.2mn in respect of non-payment of six loans including an assessment of damages and interest following a strike out of the defence at [2024] EWHC 3282 (KB) and successfully defending a relief from sanctions application at   [2026] EWHC 187 (KB)
  • Global Steel Holding Limited (in Liquidation), Wilson & Ors v Mittal & Ors [2025]
    Continuing to act (as sole counsel) in a High Court claim concerning claims in that various inter-company transactions totalling several US$100mns were transactions at an undervalue or transactions defrauding creditors (contrary to ss. 238 & 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986) or the claimant company was permitted by its directors to engage in fraudulent trading or one director owed fiduciary duties and acted so as to dishonestly breach those fiduciary duties and was dishonestly assisted in breaching those fiduciary duties or certain parties were unjustly enriched by certain the transactions or various parties conspired to cause injury to the claimants by unlawful means.
  • AI Inc v Hassan Tahir [2025]
    Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court before Steven Gasztowicz KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) concerning injunctive proceedings for the breach various agreements by Taxo’s former Chief Technology Officer for removing from Taxo’s possession and control and preventing Taxo accessing or using various digital assets including commercial sensitive web domains and software code.
  • Mandeville Retail Ltd v (1) Ian Gerstein (2) Beverley Boor (3) IB Talent Search Ltd [2025]
    Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court before Roger Ter Haal KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) concerning injunctive proceedings for breach of employee restrictive covenants and breach of confidential information in relation to the recruitment of specialist employees and subsequently on contempt of court proceedings before HHJ Richard Roberts (sitting as a High Court Judge).
  • Expert Tooling and Automation Limited v Engie Power Limited
    Led by David Lord KC in a High Court action at [2024] EWHC 374 (Ch) before HHJ Saffman sitting as a High Court Judge and in the Court of Appeal at [2025] EWCA Civ 292 before Asplin, Snowden and Zacaroli LJJ. The claim was brought by a customer against its energy supplier who claimed that payments made by the energy supplier to the customer’s broker were half-secret commissions and should be repaid to the customer by the energy supplier as equitable compensation. The claim involved issues of fiduciary duty, informed consent, accessory liability for breach of fiduciary duty and limitation. The Court of appeal gave Expert tooling permission to appeal to the Supreme Court before the appeal was settled by consent following the Supreme Court judgment in Hopcraft v Close Brothers [2025] UKSC 33.
  • Lawrence and Anr v Cowell and Ors
    Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court in a 9-day trial before Andrew Lenon KC (sitting as a High Court Judge) at [2023] EWHC 2644 (Ch) concerning claims arising out of a share purchase agreement for enforcement of personal guarantees, fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of director statutory duties.
  • Martin Campbell and Company Ltd and Anr v Shaw and Ors [2023]
    Acting (as sole counsel) in a 7-day trial before HHJ Richard Roberts in Central London County Court concerning claims arising out of four agreements governing the departure of a director and shareholder from a company, breach of duties owed by the director to the company including in relation to poaching clients and staff, fraudulent misrepresentation, and rectification for common or unilateral mistake.
  • Lone v Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court at [2023] EWHC 349 (Admin) on an appeal against findings of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal before Collins Rice J.
  • Wood v Commercial First Business Ltd (dissolved) and Ors. Acting (as sole counsel) before James Pickering QC acting as a Deputy High Court Judge at [2021] EWHC 1403 (Ch) concerning the assessment of counter-restitution following rescission of the underlying mortgage by the borrower following a finding at first instance that the commissions paid to the agents of borrowers were secret.
  • Murphy and Hyde v Munir and Ors. Acting (as sole counsel) for Business Mortgage Finance 4 plc in a 5-day High Court trial before ICC Judge Mullen at [2021] EWHC 278 (Ch) concerning claims that trust deeds were either shams, transactions at an undervalue or transactions defrauding creditors contrary to s.339 7 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
  • Wood v Commercial First Business Ltd and Ors and Business Mortgage Finance 4 plc v Pengelly [2021] EWCA Civ 471 [2022] Ch 123 Led by David Lord KC in a conjoined appeal to the Court of Appeal before David Richards, Males and Laing LJJ at [2021] EWCA Civ 471; [2022] Ch 123 The Court of Appeal heard conjoined appeals together concerning secret and half-secret commissions paid to the agents of borrowers seeking secured commercial lending. The Court of Appeal held that it was not necessary to establish a fiduciary relationship between the borrower and the agent. Rather the question was simply whether the payee was under a duty to provide information, advice or recommendation on an impartial or disinterested basis.
  • Pengelly v Business Mortgage Finance 4 plc Acting (as sole counsel) in an appeal to the High Court before Marcus Smith J at [2020] EWHC 2002 (Ch); [2020] PNLR 29 from the first instance decision of HHJ Carr concerning secret and half-secret commissions paid to the agents of borrowers seeking secured commercial lending.
  • Wood v Commercial First Business Ltd (In Liquidation) Acting (as sole counsel) in a 9-day trial before James Pickering QC acting as a Deputy High Court Judge at [2019] EWHC 2205; (Ch) [2020] CTLC 1 concerning a claim in relation to secret and half-secret commissions paid to the agents of borrowers seeking secured commercial lending. The claim involved issues of fiduciary duty, accessory liability, liability of an assignee for the payment of the commission by the assignor, unfair relationships, forgery, lack of due attestation and undue influence.
  • Wave Lending Limited v Parmar & Anr Acting (as sole counsel) against Matthew Collings QC in an appeal before Mr Martin Griffths QC (sitting as Deputy High Court Judge) at [2017] EWHC 681 (Ch) concerning whether it was permissible for a bankruptcy petition to be based on a bald statement of the unsecured amount of an otherwise secured debt, by reference to a statutory demand which contained a more detailed calculation, including an estimate of the value of the security.
  • Clydesdale Bank plc v Stoke Place Hotel Ltd (In administration) and Ors Acting (as sole counsel) against Ian Wilson QC in an 11-day High Court trial before Nugee J at [2017] EWHC 181 (Ch) concerning claims against a businessman and company director (D) in relation to (i) a sustained fraud on the bank based on deceitful misrepresentations such that D was liable as a joint tortfeasor for the deceit, (ii) D was liable for conspiring to injure the bank by unlawful and was liable in damages, and 9iii0 d was liable under two personal guarantees.
  • Commercial First Business Ltd V Pickup Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court before HHJ Raynor QC at [2017] CTLC 1 concerning a claim in relation to secret and half-secret commissions paid to the agents of borrowers seeking secured commercial lending. The claim involved issues of fiduciary duty and accessory liability, unfair relationships, and mis-selling of repossessed properties.
  • LM Associates Limited v Howlett Estates Limited and Cadebrook Limited [2015] Acting (as sole counsel) in a 3-day trial in respect of a claim for non-payment of invoices and a claim for breach of copyright.
  • IE Taxguard Limited v VFM Services Limited [2015] Acting (as sole counsel) in a 3-day trial in respect of a claim for non-payment of service charge under a commercial lease.
  • Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Limited (T/A International Decorative Surfaces) v Hillmead Joinery (Swindon) Limited Acting (as sole counsel) in the High Court at [2015] EWHC B7 (TCC) in an 8-day product liability trial before HHJ David Grant QC concerning defective laminate supplied to a major national retailer.
  • Paratus AMC Limited v Lewis Acting (as sole counsel) at [2014] EWHC 933 (Ch) and [2014] EWHC 1577 (Ch) for a lender client in mortgage proceedings including numerous hearings in the County Court and the High Court culminating in successfully obtaining an extended civil restraint order in the High Court.
  • Healthier Business UK Limited v Compli With Us Limited [2013] Acting (as sole counsel) in a claim for malicious falsehood in a commercial context including a successful injunction application.
  • Breach of Warranty Claim [2008 – 2013] Led by Nigel Jones QC for a national housing association in a £22mn breach of warranty claim against a local authority.
  • Financial Services Appointed Representative Dispute [2013] Acting as sole advocate on a claim for breach of a financial services appointed representative agreement and guarantee for the recovery of losses due to the acts/omissions/negligence of the appointed representative.
  • Katie Ward v Allies & Morrison Led by Theodore Huckell QC on an appeal to the Court of Appeal at [2012] EWCA Civ 1287 in respect of the trial decision of a Circuit Judge.
  • Wright Hassall LLP v Duncan Morris Led by Stephen Davies QC in the Court of Appeal at [2012] EWCA Civ 1472; [2013] B.C.C 192  concerning a claim against an administrator of two companies seeking to extend the rule as to the personal liability of office-holders for the costs of unsuccessful legal actions for claims brought where the office-holder is the defendant (reversing Wright Hassall LLP v Duncan Morris & Ors [2012] EWHC 188 (Ch)).
  • Challinor v Staffordshire County Council [2011] EWCA Civ 90 Led by Jim Tindall (now HJJ Tindall) in an appeal to the Court of Appeal at [2011] EWCA Civ 90 in respect of a decision of a High Court judge to strike out a claim.
  • Morris v Davies & Others [2011] EWHC 1272 (Ch)Acting in obtaining an anti-suit injunction in contentious probate proceedings to prevent competing proceedings in Belgium continuing.
  • Clearwater Swimming Pools Ltd v Pyments of Campden Ltd [2010] Acting (as sole advocate) in an appeal to the High Court against a case management decision to strike out a claim.
  • Haven Insurance Company Ltd v Marketbalance Ltd & Ors [2009-2010] Acting (as sole advocate) for an administrator of two companies in respect of a multi-million pound dispute with an international insurance company including allegations of fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and injunctive relief.
  • Schreiber Farms v The Hayward Partnership [2008-2010] Acting (as sole advocate) for a farming partnership in a commercial arbitration dispute including an appeal to the High Court.
  • Siggery & Anor v Bell & Ors. Acting (as sole advocate) in the High Court at [2007] EWHC 2167 (Ch) for 3 property owners defending proceedings for injunctive relief and at trial for obstruction of a right of way.

 

Sports Law

  • British Showjumping [2012-2026] Acting (as sole counsel) for a sport national governing body in various disciplinary proceedings against showjumpers.
  • Alexander Peternell v South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee & South African Equestrian Federation & Paul Hart [July 2012] Led by Ian Mill QC for a South African equestrian eventing rider in an appeal against his selection to the Court of Arbitration for Sport sitting in London.
  • British Dressage v Richard Davison [2011] Acting for a sport national governing body in respect of an appeal against a selection decision to British Equestrian Federation Appeal Panel.
  • British Equestrian Federation v Federation Equestre Internationale [2010] Acting for a sport national governing body in respect of an appeal to the FEI Tribunal and subsequent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
  • Gemma Plumley v British Showjumping Association [2009] Acting for a sport national governing body in respect of defending an appeal to Sport Resolutions (an arbitration panel).
  • British Horseracing Authority v Ryan Mahon [2009] Acting for the first amateur jockey of a leading national hunt trainer in anti-doping disciplinary proceedings before the disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority.

Professional memberships

  • Chancery Bar Association
  • COMBAR
  • Property Bar Association
  • Lincoln’s Inn

Education

  • LLB (Hons) Kings College London
  • PG DIP Legal Practice, College of Law

Seminars and events

Stuart is available to provide talks and seminars to speak on his practice areas upon request.  He regularly contributes to Chambers’ seminars and gives talks at individual firms and for industry bodies.

Personal interests

I am a keen sportsman playing, coaching and refereeing football, playing squash, padel and cycling. I am a keen historian and have an interest in politics and world affairs.