Mark Grant Secures Victory in Complex Unfair Prejudice Case

Mark Grant has successfully represented three shareholder defendants in a significant unfair prejudice petition case concerning the graphic design company, Brand Evolution Limited. The case was brought by a shareholder and former director who alleged that his fellow directors had conducted the company’s affairs in a manner unfairly prejudicial to him after he left to seek employment elsewhere.

The petitioner raised multiple claims, including accusations that the directors failed to adhere to a shareholder or exit agreement, excluded him from management, withheld notices for meetings, diluted his shareholding through allotting new shares, and unfairly extracted company wealth by paying themselves excessive salaries and dividends.

The trial unfolded in the Birmingham Business & Property Court (Companies Court) over four days, culminating in written closing submissions. His Honour Judge Richard Williams ultimately dismissed the petitioner’s claims in their entirety, ruling that the petitioner’s evidence was “unsatisfactory” and “unreliable.” He further concluded that the actions of the remaining directors were not unfairly prejudicial in any way.

Mark Grant, instructed by James Woolstenhulme, Victoria Kirkpatrick, and Zoe Carney of Shakespeare Martineau LLP, represented the First, Second, and Third Respondents. Other counsel in the case hailed from Maitland Chambers and No 5 Chambers.

The full judgment in Dean Joseph Banfield v Paul Robert Edwards & Ors (Re Brand Evolution Ltd) [2024] EWHC 2104 (Ch) can be accessed here.