London Registrars

  As we begin to see reasons for hope concerning the longer-term trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic, boardrooms are also having to grapple with a multitude of business risks that they must navigate, often rapidly changing and of great complexity. Here are some of the greatest of those risks – but also opportunities – that boards and management are required to be mindful of in mid-2021. Continuity of trading Crisis management, dealing with often unpredictable disruption, and business continuity have always been essential elements of risk management. However, the severity of the challenge that these factors pose has increased dramatically over the past 18 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, quickly becoming the main subject of discussion in boardrooms. The pandemic has caused many ups and downs, with multiple country-wide lockdowns, ever-changing government restrictions, and considerable uncertainty. This has led to many businesses suffering sometimes extreme downtu...

  One of the recent debates among ourselves here at London Registrars concerned the tendency of some firms solicitors to still send us cheques in payment of invoices. While these cheques are usually for less than £200, we advise against clients of our services depending on us always accepting cheques as payment. The reasons for this are several: Firstly, our nearest bank branch has been closed since before the lockdown, and the next branch – over half an hour away in the City – has not reopened yet following the easing of restrictions. To bank a cheque is a costly exercise for us  as it takes one of our employees the best part of an hour-and-a-half to bank a cheque. There is also, however, the very little-known issue of the law surrounding cheques – as detailed below. Cheques are not legal tender To understand our policy against the use of cheques as payment where at all possible, it is instructive to look back at how they have always been defined. Ever since cheques...