WOLVERHAMPTONHead office

George House, St. John’s Square, Wolverhampton WV2 4BZTelephone: 01902 578000 Facsimile: 01902 311886 DX 727920 Wolverhampton 22

BRIDGNORTH1 St. Leonard’s Close, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 4EL

Telephone: 01746 761436 Facsimile: 01746 766764 DX 23202 Bridgnorth

TELFORDBlount House, Hall Court, Hall Park Way, Telford, Shropshire TF3 4NQ

Telephone: 01952 291525 Facsimile: 01952 291921 DX 707202 Telford 4

www.manbys.co.uk

M A N B Y & S T E W A R DS O L I C I T O R S

M

Moving on up atManby & Steward

Our Telford office is celebrating following theappointment of two new solicitors to theplanning department. Chris Allingham comes tous from Haverford-West law firm and AlisonSargent, who qualified with the firm in March2006, joins the team as a planning solicitor.

Antony Bolton also joins the Telford office asassistant solicitor. He brings five years’ litigationexperience to the role and will support thefirm’s head of business services, Stuart Rea.

In addition, we have promoted Kam Johal toAssociate in Wolverhampton and Anna Phelps,who qualified in February, joins our commercialproperty department.

Clients in Shropshire will be seeing a fewnew faces at our Bridgnorth office following theexpansion of our private client team. LorettaAston, who completed her training at the firm,has now qualified as a solicitor and joins theteam on a permanent basis while legal assistantCheryl Sleath comes across from theWolverhampton office.

As the clock ticks on towards 1 October 2006and the advent of the new age discriminationregulations, employment law experts AlasdairHobbs and Peter Collins have been conductinga series of seminars for recruitment specialistsPertemps.

Partner Alasdair commented: “This is thebiggest piece of social legislation to beintroduced in the past 30 years and it willtransform the working environment for good.

“The age regulations present an even biggerchallenge for employers than the race, disability,gender, sexual orientation and religiousdiscrimination laws that have gone before aseveryone is affected.

“The new legislation will affect allaspects of recruitment procedures,from how people apply for jobs tothe way jobs are advertised so it iscrucial that firms acknowledge theirresponsibility, embrace it and mostimportantly implement it.

“From a business point of view, the newlegislation is vital due to the UK's demographicchanges, however, in order to facilitate changewe need to promote a greater culture ofacceptance. The regulations will require afundamental change in people's mindsets and ashift in perception to challenge stereotypes.

“Employers will have to be very careful asalmost any managerial decision could bechallenged on age discrimination grounds. It isvital that all practices and policies are reviewedbefore October as although regulations will nothave a retrospective effect tribunals may takebehaviour into account for post October claims.”

We are holding two free seminars on the AgeDiscrimination legislation in Telford andWolverhampton in September. For further detailssee the ‘for the diary’ section on the back.

If you wish to discuss the new legislation orperhaps have an employment issue, feel free tocontact either Alasdair Hobbs or Peter Collins on01902 578000 or emailalasdair.hobbs@manbys.co.uk,peter.collins@manbys.co.uk

Issue 10 2006Issue 10 2006

T H E N E W S L E T T E R F R O M M A N B Y & S T E W A R D L L Pin-brief

Manby & Steward LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership regulated by the Law Society

This newsletter is for guidance only and represents a brief resume of the law. Each person’s circumstances are different and you should contact a lawyer to discuss your situation

before deciding on a particular course of action.

As time goes byfor the diary...20 September 2006 Venue - Wolverhampton Office, Time to be confirmed21 September 2006 Venue - Telford Office, Time to be confirmed

Presentation on the new Age Discrimination Regulations coming into effect on 1 October 2006.

This presentation covers the new regulations and provides an insight into what youcan and cannot do after 1 October. This informative talk is a must for anyone who has anHR function within a business or is an employer. It is completely free of charge. A full set of hand-out notes will be provided to all delegates attending.

To book your place or for further details contact our Marketing Team on 01902578000 or email lisa.haggitt@manbys.co.uk

Antony Bolton with Stuart Rea.

Gavin Southall with ChiefExecutive Valerie Bowles.

We are celebrating the promotion of GavinSouthall to senior partner, following theretirement of Clive Williams, who was with thefirm for more than 40 years.

The change came into effect on 1 April andcoincided with the firm's transition to a limitedliability partnership (LLP).

Commenting on his promotion, Gavin said: “Ithas been a great few months so far in what is anexciting time for both the firm and the industry asa whole.

“The firm has responded well over the years tothe ever increasing challenges that we have tomeet in business. I am looking forward to workingwith my colleagues to develop and deepen ourrelationships with clients old and new.”

GAVIN LEADING MANBY & STEWARD IN LLP FUTUREClive, who will continue his association with

the firm in the new role of consultant, said: “I haveenjoyed my time at Manby & Steward and amconfident that the stewardship of the practice willbe ably managed by Gavin. I look forward tocontinuing my connection with clients in my newrole.”

Chief executive Valerie Bowles added: “Thetiming of the handover was particularly apt as itcoincided with our move to become a limitedliability partnership.

“We believe that converting to an LLP is theright vehicle for our business and the mostappropriate structure in which to operate andgrow a modern, forward-thinking commercial andprivate client law firm such as our own.”

Lawyers at our Wolverhampton office recentlycelebrated the completion of a deal that sawBodykraft Dudley Ltd acquire Coach and MotorWorks Ltd’s business and assets.

Bodykraft has earned a great reputation forhigh quality accident repair work on behalf of allthe major insurance companies, major local fleetoperators and private work since being foundedin 1998. The deal will see its annual turnoverincrease from £9m to £10m.

Kam Johal, who advised on the dealalongside Gavin Southall, said: “We’redelighted to have played a part in securingBodykraft’s future. It is a fantastic opportunity forthe company to move onto the next level and Iwish the team all the best for the future.”

Our very own Wolverhampton accounts assistant,Gemma Price, demonstrated her navigation skillson national TV when she appeared on Tonightwith Trevor MacDonald.

Gemma has over 11 years’ experience on therally circuit, including races on the WorldChampionship circuit. She was asked to pit hermap-reading skills against the best thattechnology has to offer during the show, whichwas aired on 12 May.

Commenting on the programme, Gemmasaid: “It was great fun recording the programme.I navigated from Richmond to Bristol in a head-to-head race with the presenter, who was guidedby the latest satellite navigation system, and wealso carried out additional filming inNottingham.”

Shropshire County Cricket Club (SCCC) looks setfor a profitable season after agreeing a newsponsorship deal with us.

The deal will see the Manby & Steward namefeatured on all playing kit, along with bannersand name checks at all home games, corporatehospitality packages and adverts on scorecards.

Gavin Southall said: “Since the Englandteam’s Ashes win last year, there has been atremendous sense of excitement surrounding thegame at all levels. We are confident that SCCC iswell placed to make the most of this upsurge ininterest and look forward to an exciting seasonahead.”

“The club is working hard to raise its profileover the coming season and, with theintroduction of Twenty20 matches from 4 August,I’m sure they’ll enjoy a record-breaking year.”

Fans of the club can also now find out moreabout their club following the launch of its new-look website. For information on forthcomingfixtures, ticket information and the playing squad,just log onto www.shropshireccc.co.uk.

Manby’s team provides theright tool for deal success

MANBYS BOWLEDOVER BYSPONSORSHIP DEAL

Members of Severn Meadows Golf Club in Highley have bought the clubfrom its current owners for an undisclosed fee.

The deal was completed after members formed a company, limited byguarantee, to purchase the club. The new owners will lease the land fromthe previous private owner while taking on the day to day running andmaintenance of the site.

The club was established on private land in 1990 with just nine holesand has grown to become a full 18-hole course with a mixed membershipof men and women, adults and juniors.

Stuart Rea, who advised on the deal, said: “I’m really pleased that thedeal has gone through and the members will now be able to take fullcontrol of the running of their club.

“All membership golf clubs should consider the possibility ofincorporating as a company limited by guarantee as this relieves theofficers of the club from potential personal liability.”

Anyone interested in joining the golf club or using its facilities shouldcontact the Club House on 01746 862212.

The recently announced government climb-down on HIPs, so that they will no longerinclude the controversial and compulsoryHome Condition Report, comes as both arelief and an opportunity to the propertyworld and its clients.

The reports would have increased costs forthe seller and deterred them from putting muchneeded properties on to the market at all.Scrapping the reports removes the mostcontroversial element of the HIP, as it has beensaid all along - “what buyer would rely on areport prepared by the seller?” Any buyer whoseriously wanted to know the condition of aproperty would have commissioned his ownindependent report, at yet more expense. Yetpractice shows that most buyers do not havetheir own survey report done, so why force theseller to spend money on something that is notwanted? In the new half-HIP, as it has beencalled, the Home Condition Reports will beoptional. Opinion is divided as to whether thiswill mean that they won't be done at all or thatthe public has grown so used to the idea inprinciple that this can be turned into amarketing opportunity for those who have

already invested in their preparation.What is to be included in the new slimmer

HIP presents an opportunity for the propertyprofessions to work together to provide betterservice and value to their home moving clients.This will save time compared to the currentsystem and enable realistic and achievabledeadlines to be set for exchange of contracts.While there is still a question about thecompulsory home Energy Efficiency reports tobe included in the packs, it is now hoped thatthe new smaller HIP will lead to savings in bothcost and time, as well as taking out some of theclients' frustrations from the property sellingprocess.

There have been mixed views in the legalprofession whether the proposed full HIPs wouldactually have reduced time and costs, but thenew streamlined HIP could now present realopportunities for this to be achieved.

If you would be interested in speaking to amember of the commercial property team aboutHome Information Packs, please contact JohnFreeman (john.freeman@manbys.co.uk) 01952291525 or Oliver Maxwell-Jones (oliver.maxwell-jones@manbys.co.uk) 01902 578000.

Manbys winsignificant land ruling

MEMBERS TEE OFF FOR SUCCESS

Issue 10 2006 Issue 10 2006

Half-HIPs pip the HIPs

Testing sat-nav systemsfor national TV

Niall Blackie and planning consultantsTweedale recently secured the right to build anew 1500sq m commercial building on abrown field site which lies within green beltland in South Staffordshire. Consent wasobtained on behalf of our long standing clientFW Bickford and Sons Limited.

The result was achieved after a planninginquiry which ran over three days at Codsall inDecember 2005 and will mean the company canbuild a new unit to enable it to meet modernrequirements for crane fitting and testing.

The ruling was significant as the site wastaken from them by the War Department duringthe Second World War and then sold back tothem by the Ministry of Defence in 1978, afterbeing used as a transport depot. When the landwas sold back, the council allowed FW Bickfordto refurbish the dilapidated buildings but resistednew buildings.

In 1989 we helped FW Bickford achieve theright to build a new warehouse, through a seriesof appeals. Since then they have also securedpermission for offices to be built at the site.

Niall, who acted as one of two advocates forBickfords at the most recent public inquiryalongside Jeremy Cahill QC, said: “This is animportant decision since the inspector hasbalanced the need for protection of the greenbelt against the importance of allowing a localemployer to expand and meet new businessrequirements and opportunities by building anew unit in the existing brown field site.

“We argued that the company’s needs wereso very special that they outweighed theprotection given to the green belt, and theinspector accepted this.”

South Staffordshire Council was ordered topay FW Bickford an undisclosed sum towardstheir costs at the inquiry.

JOHN FREEMAN

Commercial Property Partner

Adrian Burn, John Bickford and Niall Blackie

Kam Johal and Mike Pughfrom Bodykraft

Finance assistant GemmaPrice

Peter Bradley, Guy Home, Niall Blackie, Bryan Foulkes,David Raymont

Stuart Rea, Colin Harrison, Steve Thomas, SimonChesters, Paul Bethell, Tim Marshall

OLIVER MAXWELL-JONES

Commercial Property Lawyer