Summer 2009 Newsletter Content Pot and kettle No more stealth Pensions hit A place in the sun Ready or not... Nice motor Making allowances Good times, bad times Tax-free checkup Three square meals Funny question Dividend rules OK? Too good to be true? Pay my friend Early EIS Mind the halfpennies Just the ticket Flat rate changes Foreign Service This year, next year Partial exemption Penalties Compliance checks Under their eye Howzat? Know your rights Discipline Don't be mean Redundancy Two sorts of absence Warranties

Warranties Anyone selling a business is required to produce reams of assurances in the form of warranties. If one of these is not true, the vendor may have to pay damages to the purchaser, or may have to make good any losses suffered under an indemnity. To limit the possible damage, it's usual to attach a "disclosure letter" to the warranties. The warranties promise the earth, and the disclosure letter lists the exceptions - things that don't quite fit the general promise, but which the purchaser shouldn't complain about later because it's been taken into account already. In a recent case, the disclosure letter stated that the company had "approximately 150 - 200 contracts" for work coming up. It turned out that it only had 87. The purchaser sued for breach of warranty, but was unsuccessful. The trouble was that the error was in the wrong place - it wasn't another warranty, but a comment about an assurance which related to something else entirely. The disclosure letter didn't legally add any further promises. The lawyers ought to have picked this up - but whether you are buying or selling a business, it's important to understand what is being held out to be true.