Weil has today secured victory for Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay and their associated companies, who were defendants in the hard fought and highly complex unfair prejudice petition and conspiracy action brought by Irish developer Patrick McKillen. The multimillion-pound action, which lasted for 30 full days of trial and which was heard on an expedited basis by Mr. Justice David Richards, related to the ownership and control of the Maybourne Hotels Group, which owns three iconic London hotels: Claridges, the Berkeley and the Connaught.
The High Court judgment, handed down this morning, dismissed all of Mr. McKillen’s claims as being without any basis in fact or law. It is a comprehensive victory for the Barclays, who are existing clients of the office, having worked with senior private equity partner, Marco Compagnoni, continuously over the last 20 years on a wide range of deals and other high profile matters. Compagnoni acted for the Barclays on all the various transactions relating to the Maybourne Hotels Group, which formed the basis of Mr. McKillen’s unsuccessful challenges. Today’s ruling follows two earlier Court of Appeal decisions in favour of the Barclays on key preliminary issues in the case.
Weil’s litigation team was led by practice head Matthew Shankland, with Hannah Field-Lowes, Jamie Maples, Victoria Burton and Kate Russell. The transactional team was led by Marco Compagnoni with James Harvey and James Hogben. Weil instructed Ken MacLean QC, Lord Grabiner QC, Jeffery Onions QC, Sa’ad Hossain and Edmund Nourse, all of One Essex Court.
Matthew Shankland commented, “This judgment is a comprehensive win for our clients. It comes after a 30 day trial and Mr. Justice David Richards has produced a most impressive and carefully considered ruling. This has been one of the most significant and complex cases in the High Court this year, and certainly one of the most high profile.”
Marco Compagnoni said, “The Court’s decision represents a major victory for Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay and their interests and a repudiation of the claims brought against them. This is an outstanding result. Matthew Shankland and the litigation team here have won in a resounding way.”
Ashurst, Quinn Emanuel, Taylor Wessing and DLA are advising the other defendants.
Hogan Lovells is advising NAMA.
Herbert Smith is advising the unsuccessful Claimant, Patrick McKillen, on this case, as well as having advised him on the two preliminary issues heard in the Court of Appeal.
