The lease of an office building in Watford set something of a puzzle for Judge Rich QC in the High Court.
The lease gave the tenant two opportunities to acquire the freehold of the property. Firstly, the tenant could exercise an option to buy at a fixed price. Alternatively, the tenant could respond to a notice that the landlord intended to dispose of its reversion at the prevailing market price.
The problem arose when the tenant purported to exercise his fixed-price option some five days after receiving a “we intend to sell” notice from the landlord. Being only too aware that market levels had risen well above the fixed price, the landlord argued that, by being the first to push the button, it had effectively killed off the right claimed by the tenant.
That argument failed to find favour with the judge, who accepted that he had to do his best with some rather poorly drafted provisions.
Trounce v Josdor Properties Ltd Chancery Division (Judge Rich QC, sitting as a deputy judge of the division) 26 October 2000.
Gillian Carrington (instructed by Blaser Mills Winter Taylors, of High Wycombe) represented the tenant; Jonathan Arkush (instructed by Wallace & Partners) represented the landlord.
PLS News 30/10/00
