In re Ricardo Group Plc: ChD 1989

The company had obtained a restrictions order under Part XV. An application was made to the court for relief.
Held: On the facts relief was refused. The respondent had secured discharge of the order under the liberty to apply, having provided the requested information, notwithstanding the company’s wish to hold on to the order pending further enquiries as to the completeness and accuracy of the information provided.
Millett J said: ‘it would be idle if I were to delude myself into thinking that these applications are made in the course of ordinary litigation. In the first place, an order imposing Part XV restrictions on shares has a much wider effect than an ordinary interlocutory injunction.
. . Far from preserving the status quo, they interfere with it. They are granted as a sanction to compel the provision of information to which the company is entitled. It follows, in my judgment, that once the information is supplied, any further justification for the continuance of the sanction disappears.’ and ‘in my judgment, these restriction orders are not to be used as weapons to gain a temporary advantage over an opponent in a contested takeover bid. Their only legitimate purpose is to coerce a recalcitrant respondent into providing the requisite information.’

Judges:

Millett J

Citations:

[1989] BCLC 566

Statutes:

Companies Act 1985 Part XV

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedEclairs Group Ltd and Another v JKX Oil and Gas Plc and Others ChD 30-Aug-2013
Challenge was made to restrictions on voting imposed on the directors under the company’s articles.
Held: The purpose of article 42 is to provide a ‘sanction or incentive’ to remedy a failure to comply with the disclosure notice. . .
CitedEclairs Group Ltd and Glengary Overseas Ltd v JKX Oil and Gas Plc SC 2-Dec-2015
Company Director not Trustee but is Fiduciary
The Court was asked about an alleged ‘corporate raid’, an attempt to exploit a minority shareholding in a company to obtain effective management or voting control without paying what other shareholders would regard as a proper price.
Held: The . .
CitedJKX Oil and Gas Plc and Others v Eclairs Group Ltd CA 13-May-2014
The court was asked as to important issues on the validity and constitutionality of restrictions imposed by the directors pursuant to Part 22 of the 2006 Act and the company’s Articles of Association, including the purported disenfranchisement of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Company

Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.595474