Business Law Library & Tracker
Directors' Duties & Governance
Board decisions, conflicts, care, company interests and director exposure.
Sources last reviewed 28 July 2026
Main law guides
122
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
60
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
143
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
11
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpMain laws
Employment Act 2002
2002 c. 22
Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008
SI 2008/3229
Companies Act 2006
UKPGA 2006 c 46
Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986
UKPGA 1986 c 46
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
UKPGA 2023 c 56
Enterprise Act 2002
UKPGA 2002 c 40
Insolvency Act 1986
UKPGA 1986 c 45
Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017
SI 2017/395
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
UKPGA 2015 c 26
Care Standards Act 2000
2000 c. 14
Private Security Industry Act 2001
2001 c. 12
Legal Services Act 2007
2007 c. 29
Fire Safety Act 2021
2021 c. 24
Cases
Airconco UK Limited v DC Air Condition and Refrigeration Limited
For ordinary businesses, the lesson is simple: do not treat website copy as free to reuse just because it is public and promotional. If you lift wording from a...
Amber Bridging Limited (In Administration) & Anor v Market Financial Solutions Limited
If your business relies on a servicer, manager, agent, broker or group company to collect and apply money, treat the payment mechanics as a core legal risk area....
Emotional Perception AI Limited v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
If your business is filing patents for AI systems in the UK, this case changes the framing. It is no longer a strong argument to say an ANN is not a computer...
Euro Car Parks Limited v Competition & Markets Authority
The durable lesson is about process discipline and publication risk. If your business gets an information notice from the CMA or another regulator, verify it...
Pridewell Properties (London) Limited v Spirit Pub Company (Managed) Limited
If you are a landlord relying on redevelopment to oppose a new tenancy, this case shows the court will test the practical detail, not just the headline plan. It is...
Saxon Woods Investments Ltd v Costa
A director can disagree strongly with the board, but must use the company's governance process to do it. Honest belief is not a licence to run a private...
Tangent Properties (North) Ltd v Evans Homes (Skelton) No 2 Limited
If your business wants to reward someone through a share of development profits, success fees or project upside, document the arrangement properly at the time....
The Financial Conduct Authority v Argento Wealth Limited & Anor
The lasting value of this case is practical rather than technical. If your business raises money, do not assume that a purpose clause automatically ring-fences...
THG Plc v Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd
Do not assume an old shareholder complaint has disappeared, but do not assume it can be brought forever either. This case says the court must look at what the...
Anwar Khan v Ankar Miah & Anor
For a small business owner, the durable lesson is not that every serious fallout leads to a winding-up order. The court may accept that a two-person company has the...
Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) and others v Tradition Financial Services Ltd
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is not about carbon trading itself. It is about counterparties, intermediaries and warning signs. If your business helps...
easyGroup Limited v Easy Live (Services) Limited & Ors
The practical lesson is not simply ‘avoid famous brands’. It is more specific: test the exact wording you want to use, not just your full company name or logo. In...
Equity & Ors v Talent Systems Europe Limited (trading as Spotlight)
If your business runs a directory, marketplace or subscription platform for freelancers, this case shows that labels alone do not decide your legal status, but your...
Mohinder Singh & Ors v David Ingram (in his capacity as the Liquidator of MSD Cash and Carry PLC)
For business owners, directors and insolvency practitioners, the lesson is simple: do not assume that a funding agreement signed part-way through a dispute only...
Places for People Pension Trustee Limited v Places for People Group Limited & Ors
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is less about pensions litigation and more about document control. If your business changes employee benefits, incentive...
River Island Holdings Limited, Re
The practical lesson is not that every struggling business can cut leases through court process. It is that directors should act early, build evidence and compare...
Thames Water Utilities Holdings Ltd, Re
If your business is heading towards a cash shortfall, the key lesson is to start restructuring work early and build evidence around the real fallback scenario if no...
Thatchers Cider Company Limited v Aldi Stores Limited
The lesson is not that you can never use common flavour cues, category colours or fruit imagery. The problem is pushing the design so far that it deliberately calls...
Wise Payments Limited v With Wise Limited & Ors
If you are choosing or changing a brand, do not stop at checking whether another business looks like a direct competitor. Map what your business actually does now,...
Anthony John Wright and Geoffrey Paul Rowley & Ors v Dominic Joseph Andrew Chappell & Ors (Re BHS Group Ltd & Ors (in liquidation))
For ordinary business owners, the practical lesson is simple: once your company is in serious financial trouble, board decisions need to become more disciplined,...
Lifestyle Equities CV and another v Ahmed and another
For business owners, this case draws a practical line between company exposure and personal exposure in brand disputes. If your company uses a sign that infringes...
Morley’s (Fast Foods) Limited v Jeyatharini Sivakumar & Ors
The practical message is clear. If your business has settled a branding dispute, do not treat the approved logo as a flexible starting point for future redesigns....
Options UK Personal Pensions LLP v Financial Ombudsman Service Limited
If your firm is FCA-regulated, do not assume that execution-only wording or no-advice declarations will protect you from a complaint about losses. This case shows...
Rajinder Kumar & Ors v LSC Finance Limited
If your business lends or borrows against land, do not treat purpose wording as boilerplate. A court will look at the actual intended use of the land and the real...
THG PLC & Ors v Zedra Trust Company (Jersey) Limited
If your business is dealing with a shareholder dispute, do not assume the section 994 label answers the timing question. Start with the act being challenged, the...
Vadim Don Benyatov v Credit Suisse (Securities) Europe Ltd
The practical lesson is about clarity, scope and risk allocation. An employer may owe recognised duties of care and may have to reimburse some expenses or...
BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA
Directors should change their decision-making discipline as financial distress increases. Board papers, cash-flow evidence and creditor impact should become more...
Credico Marketing Limited & Anor. v Benjamin Gregory Lambert & Anor.
If your agreement contains both an exclusivity clause and a post-termination non-compete, assess them separately. This case shows that a court may uphold the first...
Dwyer (UK Franchising) Limited v Fredbar Limited & Anor.
If you use franchise agreements, do not assume a 12 month restraint is safe just because similar clauses have been upheld elsewhere. The court said each case turns...
Zoe Evans & Ors. v Anytime Clubs UK Limited & Anor.
If you run a franchise, keep clear records showing who controls local marketing in practice, not just on paper. A general right to protect brand standards is not...
Travel Counsellors Ltd v Trailfinders Ltd
Do not assume a new recruit or franchisee is free to bring over a customer list just because they know the customers personally. If the volume, format or detail of...
Trailfinders Ltd v Travel Counsellors Ltd & Ors
For ordinary businesses, the lesson is simple: do not treat customer lists as fair game just because a recruit knows the customers, can remember some details, or...