Organisers of this year’s Two Castles run from Warwick to Kenilworth say that 100 places are still up for grabs.

The soaring popularity of the annual event – which attracts 4,000 runners – has seen organisers move to a ballot system for the first time in the event’s history.

However, unlike the previous ‘first come, first served’ online application system, where all 4,000 entries went within three hours last year, response to the ballot for the run on Sunday, June 11 has been slow.
Bob Kelly, press officer for organisers Kenilworth Rotary Club, said there had been calls for the entry system to be made fairer with everyone having a chance to obtain a place. “I think that the online registration concentrated people’s minds on the need to act quickly, whereas the longer period for the ballot took the urgency out of applying and caused some people to ‘put it off until tomorrow’ – or even next week!

“Currently, anyone who registers in the next few days will get a place. Runners are also advised to put their names on our waiting list as more places will inevitably become available as there are always cancellations between registration and the big day.

This will be the 12th consecutive year that the Two Castles – which is also supported by Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club – has been sponsored by Leamington law firm Blythe Liggins, who will also be fielding a team of runners as well as a drinks station and marshals.

Richard Thornton, joint senior partner, said: “The Two Castles run is an excellent event and we are delighted to be supporting it once again. The decision to move to a ballot system, which is obviously used so successfully with major events such as the London Marathon, is also a much fairer way to ensure registration for the thousands who wish to take part in this popular run.”

Registration for the Two Castles run is at www.twocatlesrun.org.uk.

Caption: (l-r) Two Castles race organiser Philip Southwell with Richard Thornton from Blythe Liggins Solicitors and Kenilworth Rotary Club president John Boothroyd.

Villagers have been celebrating after the opening of a £800,000 sports centre which aims to support clubs and community projects.

The Wellesbourne Sports and Community Centre, which benefited from Section 106 funding and support from Wellesbourne Parish Council, already has 200 members signed up to its gym, with bosses hoping it will help inspire the new generation of fitness lovers.

Anne Prior, a director at the centre, which will be operated as a charitable trust, said: “We’ve had amazing backing from the community and have been very fortunate with the support the project has received from the parish council – without them this would not have been possible.

“We have already had tremendous feedback from residents and our future plans for the centre will help us support even more local sports clubs and community projects.”

Kevin Mitchell, partner for Leamington-based Blythe Liggins Solicitors’ commercial team, advised Wellesbourne Parish Council on establishing the trust which will run the centre and helped the negotiation processes for the contracts.

He said: “It’s extremely important to secure lease durations and costs which will ensure these valuable facilities can be enjoyed by the community in Wellesbourne for generations to come.”

The centre has also received funding from the Persimmon Community Fund, Tesco Bags of Help and One Stop Carriers for Causes, along with donations from local residents through a ‘buy a brick’ scheme.

The sports facility recently launched a fitness class schedule offering 20 sessions per week and offers a daily after-school table tennis club for youngsters.

By June, the centre will see the addition of two multi-sport areas and two tennis courts.

The charity hopes to secure funding this year to develop the upper floor of the centre to increase the facilities available to community groups.

Caption:
Left to right – Kevin Mitchell, partner for Leamington-based Blythe Liggins Solicitors’ commercial team; Anne Prior, a director at Wellesbourne Sports and Community Centre; Tom Wheeler, gym instructor at Wellesbourne Sports and Community Centre/

Despite resistance from Lawyers who specialise in Wills and Probate, the government still plan to plough on with proposals to increase the Probate Court Fee for applications for probate. When someone dies, their assets become frozen and it is the responsibility of the executors named in the Will (or administrators if there is no Will) to apply for a grant of representation. This process is more commonly referred to as probate. The grant of representation is an authority from the Court for the personal representatives to administer the estate. It is the document that the banks/building societies/ shares registrars etc are looking for to enable them to close the accounts and release the funds.

The fee is currently £155 where a solicitor makes the application and £215 for personal applications. There is no fee if an estate is worth under £5,000. The Government is proposing to nearly double that fee for estates worth £50,000- £300,000 to £300. For estates worth over £300,000 they suggest that you should now pay a fee of £1,000 for a Grant of Probate. Estates over £500,000 will pay £4,000.00. For estates worth over £2,000,000 the fees will now be £20,000! The effect is to increase the fees payable on 42% of all estates varying between an increase of 2 to 129 times the current amount. The fees will apply irrespective of who inherits the estate, unlike inheritance tax. So widows and charities will pay under the new regime.

It is difficult to understand the justification for the new fees as there is no difference in the amount of work that the Probate Registry will have to undertake to process a Grant for £200,000 or £800,000 and yet the fees will be £3,700 more. The Probate Registry’s most expensive fee will be 66 times its cheapest fee. By comparison, the Land Registry’s most expensive fee for registering an unregistered property is only 22 times more expensive than its cheapest fee. This is, therefore, just another form of death duty. The Government have promised investment into the Court system and it is thought that the increase in revenue will be used towards this.

One problem with the increase, however, is that like Inheritance tax, it will need paying upfront. The government’s paper mentions the fact that executors or beneficiaries may have to loan the estate the money necessary to pay the fees. This is commonly the case now, but of course loaning £155 is totally different to loaning £4,000. We believe that this will result in real hardship, particularly where people are asset rich but cash poor.

Donna Bothamley, a partner at Blythe Liggins and who is also a member of Solicitors for the Elderly has confirmed that Solicitors have not yet given up hope. “A number of us are writing to our local MPs to try and encourage a rethink” she said. “It is certainly not in the best interests of our clients to support such a huge increase”.

Caption: Donna Bothamley, Partner. Head of the Wills & Probate Department.

Last week the Supreme Court ruled that Ms Brewster was entitled to her late partner’s pension despite the fact that she and Mr McMullan were not married and that Mr McMullan had seemingly not named Ms Brewster on the requisite form for her to be eligible to receive his pension as a survivor. If the couple had been married then Ms Brewster would automatically have been eligible for the survivor’s pension.
The couple had lived together for 10 years and became engaged on Christmas Eve 2009, two days before Mr McMullan died aged 43.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Ms Brewster should receive payments under the pension scheme, and the decision has been welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales as a victory for equal treatment before the law for unmarried couples.

Cohabitees do not have the same legal rights as married couples despite there being an increasing trend for couples to reside together without being married. As such, cohabiting couples need to ensure they are adequately protected should anything happen to either of them.

If you would like some advice regarding cohabitation, please contact a member of the Blythe Liggins Family Team.

Caption: Eilidh Rose, Solicitor. Family Team

Restaurant goers have had their Christmas ruined by contracting salmonella at a Chinese Restaurant in Birmingham.

After eating at a popular Chinese restaurant in Birmingham on the first weekend in December, a family suffered with severe gastric symptoms to include diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pains. A sample confirmed that the food poisoning was in fact salmonella and resulted in one victim being hospitalised.
The impact continued for several weeks with the victims still suffering with ongoing symptoms over 8 weeks later.

Lois Harrison is investigating the matter on behalf of the family and said “We have been informed that Public Health England are investigating and want to prevent this happening again in the future. The restaurant has had a 0 hygiene rating since May 2016 and it is simply terrible that it continues to trade whilst their hygiene issues remain”.

If you have been affected by food poisoning and would like some free initial advice on whether you have a claim, please contact Lois Harrison on 01926 884751.

The £38 million turnover Travel Management Group (TMG), launched 30 years ago in Leamington Spa, has been sold in a multimillion pound deal to one of the UK’s leading independent corporate travel management companies.

TMG and Cambridge Business Travel have both been acquired in simultaneous deals by Gray Dawes Travel in London and Colchester.

David Lester, joint senior partner and head of the commercial department at Blythe Liggins Solicitors, who advised TMG on the deal, said the two acquisitions would help make Gray Dawes one of the UK’s 20 largest travel management companies.

Founded in 1986, TMG is one of the UK’s leading independent travel management specialists, with dedicated departments for corporate, events, leisure and sport.

As well as providing business travel for many blue chip organisations, TMG is Europe’s leading professional sport travel agency, with a client base that has included Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester Tigers and Middlesex CCC, as well as the FA and Premier League.

TMG founder and chairman Ian Dunwoody said: “Gray Dawes’ acquisition of TMG provides a major growth opportunity for both our business and extended services for our clients. With the stability and backing of one of the longest established travel management companies in the country, TMG customers will benefit from even wider products, services and innovation.”

Mr Dunwoody, who said the complex negotiations had gone on for several months, praised David Lester and his legal team at Blythe Liggins for their high standard of work. “They have been absolutely amazing and have guided me every step of the way, offering excellent and knowledgeable advice at every stage.”
Gray Dawes chief executive Suzanne Horner said: “Having TMG and Cambridge Business Travel join Gray Dawes brings 2016 to an exciting and satisfying close. The goal has been to propel our business into one of the 20 largest travel management companies in the UK, trading in excess of £100m per year.
“These acquisitions enable us to achieve this strategic position in 2017.

“The staff and customers of both companies are an excellent fit for Gray Dawes and their locations of Leamington Spa and Cambridge provide us with new geographic opportunity.

“Together with our recent appointment as member of Radius Travel (a global travel organisation), Gray Dawes now brings the benefits of scale and global reach to our ever-growing customer base.”

CAPTION: (top to bottom) David Lester, joint senior partner with Blythe Liggins Solicitors, Ian Dunwoody, founder and chairman of TMG and Suzanne Horner, chief executive of Gray Dawes Travel.

Issued by Newsline PR. Tel: 01926 888308

Two friends who studied law together in Birmingham have qualified as solicitors at a Leamington law firm.

Lois Harrison and Eilidh Rose, who were both in the same class at the University of Law in Birmingham, were trainee solicitors at Blythe Liggins solicitors in Rugby Road.

Lois, who joined the firm in 2007 in the conveyancing department, later becoming a chartered legal executive, has now qualified as a solicitor and is currently working in the personal injury and medical negligence department.

Eilidh, who also studied Spanish at Bristol University, has completed her two-year training contract with the firm and has also now qualified as a solicitor, working in the matrimonial department.

Joint senior partner Richard Thornton: “Both of them have shown considerable promise and have worked hard to achieve their success. I am confident that they will have very successful careers at Blythe Liggins and indeed both are already proving to be invaluable members of the team.”

CAPTION: Newly-qualified solicitors Lois Harrison (left) and Eilidh Rose.

With Christmas Day less than two weeks away, it can be a challenging time for parents who are separating to reach an agreement about how children should spend their time over the festive break.

It is important to remember that arrangements over Christmas can produce a considerable amount of stress for both adults and children. This stress can be minimised by careful planning and focussing on the children’s needs.

For parents who have recently separated or are in the process of separating, these are some suggestions which may help.

Talk to the other parent

Whenever possible, set aside time to discuss plans with the other parent beforehand.

Plan ahead

Think through how you would like to spend time with your children. Consider making a calendar in advance to show the children how time will be spent between households.

Talk to your children

Don’t ask the children to choose between you but listen to their ideas, discuss what is possible and then do your best to incorporate some of their suggestions. Instead of just informing children about plans over Christmas, consider talking with them.

Support your children’s relationship with the other parent

Convey a positive attitude about your child spending time with the other parent. Some children may struggle with missing the parent they are not with during longer periods of time. Children can maintain contact with the absent parent by way of regular telephone calls, emails or via FaceTime and Skype.

Practical Considerations

Discuss Christmas presents, travel arrangements and which activities each of you will attend. This will avoid unnecessary conflict and arguments which can cause stress and upset for the adults and children involved.

By adopting these suggestions what can be a difficult time will be more enjoyable for everyone, so plan ahead and have a wonderful Christmas.

Resolution is a national organisation of family lawyers committed to non confrontational divorce, separation and other family problems.

Resolution members agree to follow a Code of Practice which actively promotes a constructive approach to family issues and to consider the needs of the whole family, in particular the best interests of the children.

Resolution are running an awareness campaign from 28 November – 2 December 2016 (known as Good Divorce Week) which amongst other things is intended to promote their new Code of Practice. On Wednesday, 30 November it is hoped that over 150 members will be travelling to Westminster to meet their MP in order to promote Resolution’s campaign for no fault divorce and improving rights for cohabiting couples.

Andrew Brooks, head of the Family Department at Blythe Liggins was keen to get behind the campaign. Andrew said “I’ve been a member of Resolution for 25 years and I’m keen to promote their new Code of Practice, which I wholly endorse. I can assure anyone who is thinking of instructing us that I and all of my team have always been keen to adopt Resolution’s Code of Practice. Experience has shown me that the outcome in such cases has been beneficial not only to our clients, but to their children too”.

Blythe Liggins also fully support Resolution’s campaign for a no fault divorce and improving rights for cohabiting couples. Blythe Liggins will shortly make available on their webpage a link to Resolution’s new Code of Practice.