Annington Property Ltd v Secretary of State for Defence [2023] EWHC 1154 (Admin)

Philip Rainey KC and Ceri Edmonds were part of the Ministry of Defence legal team successfully defending this high-profile judicial review heard over 5 days in the Administrative Court (Mr Justice Holgate) in February 2023.

This claim was one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2023.  The claim concerned the Ministry of Defence Married Quarters Estate, now comprising approximately 38,000 homes, which was sold off on long headleases to the claimant in 1996.

The claimant challenged the validity of 8 enfranchisement claim notices served by the Secretary of State for Defence under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.

Judgment was handed down by Holgate J today, 15 May 2023.

The judgment is long and complex (152 pages) and a summary will not be attempted here.  In the result, the Judge rejected the Claimant’s case and upheld the validity in private law and the lawfulness in public law of the enfranchisement claim notices.

A link to the judgment can be found here: Annington final judgment_15_05_2023 (judiciary.uk)

Links to previous press coverage of this claim can be found here:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/13/guy-hands-firm-challenges-mod-over-controversial-8bn-property-estate

https://www.ft.com/content/e48e9bfd-5034-4c4b-b0ba-75a14b73955f