Broadgate Legal, News

28/08/25

A former Citibank executive and her husband are taking legal action against builders over claims their £3 million Surrey home was so poorly constructed it is uninhabitable.

Lisa and Tim Klaver have filed a High Court claim against North Downs Construction, alleging 69 separate defects in the property near Farnham. Problems are said to include issues with timber cladding, the terrace, balcony, roof, external walls, windows, doors, basement tanking, and structural steelwork.

23/07/25

A landmark piece of fashion history has just shattered records. The original prototype of the Hermès Birkin bag—designed in 1984 for actress and style icon Jane Birkin—has sold for an astonishing €8.6 million (£7.4 million) at Sotheby's Fashion Icons sale in Paris.

The bidding war was fierce, with speculation swirling around high-profile names, including newlywed Lauren Sánchez, wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. In the end, the winning bid came not from the Bezos camp, but from a private Japanese collector participating by phone.

19/06/25

Jodie Marsh, former glamour model and animal sanctuary owner, has won a legal appeal allowing her to keep eight ring-tailed lemurs at her sanctuary in Essex.

The 46-year-old had applied for a wild animal licence to house the lemurs at Fripps Farm in Lindsell. However, Uttlesford District Council initially refused the application, citing concerns over noise disturbances. Marsh challenged the decision in court.

21/05/25

A Regent's Park mansion once occupied by literary icon Charles Dickens is now the focus of a legal dispute involving millions of pounds in unpaid debt. The Grade I-listed Hanover Terrace property, where Dickens lived in 1861 while writing Great Expectations, is at the heart of a possession claim brought by Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg-based lender, against its current owner, Deborah Fiorentino.

25/04/25

The owner of a £1.5 million luxury houseboat moored near London's exclusive "Billionaires' Row" is battling what he claims is an unfair eviction from his prized berth.

Simon Howard, 69, a business consultant, is contesting efforts to remove his houseboat from its mooring at the entrance to Cheyne Walk. After committing to a life on the water, Howard and his then-wife, Kate, purchased the aging Dutch barge Joseph Conrad in 2010 for nearly £900,000. They undertook a major renovation, transforming it with features such as a spiral staircase, three bathrooms, a sun terrace, and a retro-themed bar.