4 Stone Buildings

Barrister specialising in commercial and commercial Chancery litigation, particularly company law and shareholder disputes, insolvency and civil fraud. He acts both led and unled in cases before the High Court and County Court and has acted in LCIA arbitrations and related applications to the High Court.

Examples of recent instructions include:

• Department for Health & Social Care v PPE Medpro Limited: Acting for the Department of Health and Social Care in its ongoing claim against PPE Medpro Limited for in excess of £130 million. The claim arises from the supply of allegedly defective PPE to DHSC during the Covid-19 pandemic (led by Paul Stanley KC, Tiran Nersessian and Albert Sampson).
• X v Y: Acting on a claim brought by a merchant bank for fees in cash and kind said to be worth over £65 million allegedly due to it under a “tail-gunner” clause in an advisory services agreement relating to a reverse takeover (led by Jonathan Crow CVO KC).
• NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd: Nicholas acted in LCIA arbitrations concerning a shareholder dispute over control of the Cypriot holding company of a large mine in the CIS region. This eventually included an antisuit injunction arbitration to restrain proceedings in Cyprus and three consolidated arbitrations on the merits. The case particularly addressed questions of the limits of arbitrability in the company law context which were eventually addressed by the High Court in NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd [2022] EWHC 1682 (Comm) (led by Aidan Casey KC and Alexander Cook KC).
• Re Sova Capital Limited [2023] EWHC 452 (Ch): Nicholas acted for an interested party (the intended purchaser) on applications by the Joint Special Administrators of an insolvent investment brokerage firm focussed on the Russian market for directions pursuant to pursuant to paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 in relation to the sale of a portfolio of shares with an estimated value of approximately £274 million (led by William Buck).
• Re XYZ Ltd: Nicholas acted for the Petitioner in an unfair prejudice petition concerning a 50/50 joint venture company incorporated to carry out a large property development. The case settled immediately following presentation of the petition on highly favourable terms to the Petitioner (led by David Lord KC).

Called: 2019 (Lincoln’s Inn)

Chancery Bar Association, COMBAR

MA History, Trinity College, University of Cambridge; MPhil International Relations and Politics, Peterhouse, University of Cambridge; GDL & BPTC, City, University of London.