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Verbal agreements can be as legally binding as written contracts provided they have the following four essential key elements:
• An offer by one party;
• Acceptance of the offer by the other party;
• Consideration (i.e. something of value each party must exchange in return for the other party’s promise to provide something of value in return);
• An intention on the part of the parties to create a legally binding contract.
This having been said, verbal agreements do present difficulties and often lead to disputes. If a disagreement arises, it will often be one party’s word against the others as to whether an agreement was entered into and the terms agreed.
If it goes to court the judge will have to decide which party he/she believes taking into account the background and best evidence available. The best evidence available will be information such as the version of events given by the parties that appears most credible, the parties’ actions following the purported agreement, any previous course of dealings and any contemporaneously made notes of the discussions leading up to the agreement.
To avoid uncertainty and prevent disputes arising we recommend putting in place a professional written contract.
If you have issues arising out of a contract you have entered into, or would like us to draft one for you please get in touch with us.
Administration is a formal insolvency and also business rescue procedure.
Once a company is placed into administration an administrator (insolvency practitioner) is appointed to manage its affairs, business and property.
A moratorium is put in place to prevent creditors taking further legal action against the company whilst the administrator attempts the achieve one of the three following statutory purposes:
• Rescuing the company as a going concern;
• Achieving a better result for the company’s creditors as a whole than would be likely if the company were wound up (without first being in administration); or
• Realising property in order to make a distribution to one or more secured or preferential creditors.
Once the administration has ended, either the directors retake control of the company in place of the administrator, it is liquidated or dissolved. This will depend on the purpose of the administration, whether it has been achieved and if there is likely to be a distribution to creditors.
If you are the director of a company in financial difficulty and require advice on the best way to alleviate creditor pressure, please get in contact. We are able to provide specialist advice as to the most appropriate insolvency procedure for you.