Commercial Disputes
Credible and persuasive quantification of losses.
A large proportion of the work our forensic accounting team undertakes is quantifying losses in commercial disputes; acting for both claimants/petitioners and defendants/respondents, and sometimes as a SJE (Single Joint Expert).
Our clients range in size from SMEs to large, listed companies and quantum of losses in cases can range from low hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of pounds. Many of these matters have an international dimension. We undertake commercial dispute engagements as part of formal Court litigation proceedings as well as arbitration, mediations and other ADR proceedings.
Our Commercial Disputes Services
Loss Quantification
Valuation
Contractual Disputes
Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
Claims Advisory
Professional Negligence
Sale & Purchase Disputes
Government Claims
Types of Commercial Disputes We Advise On
The disputes that we are instructed on include:
- Contractual disputes – where we are required to quantify the losses suffered by individuals, companies or organisations as a result of alleged or actual breaches in contracts, particularly between suppliers and customers. As well as past losses, we are often required to quantify and discount future losses to calculate their current value.
- Sale and Purchase Disputes, including breaches of warranty and misrepresentation – we are accustomed to reading warranties, identifying breach and providing opinion and cogent calculations of the quantum of loss arising in post M&A transaction claims and counterclaims
- Professional negligence – where appropriate, we provide input on liability issues (primarily in relation to alleged negligence by accountants) as well as quantifying the damages following the alleged negligence. Our work often involves providing detailed explanation of the impact of the alleged negligence and how it created divergence between the actual state of affairs and a counterfactual scenario.
- Shareholder disputes (including s994 petitions) and partnership disputes – where we are instructed to either investigate alleged wrongdoing by one of the parties and/or to quantify the losses that have arisen. In particular, we have acted in a large number of unfair prejudice claims, where we are required to value minority shareholdings in companies.
- Claims against Governmental organisations – for example where it is claimed that losses have arisen as a result of failures or fraud in tender processes or where there has been a breach of International Investment Agreements.
- Commercial agency claims – we are experienced in quantifying losses [based on the methodology established in Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam Ltd 2007] and are alive to the common recurring issues, including calculating the value of an agency on a hypothetical open market basis.
Expert Witness and Valuation Expertise
Many of the commercial dispute matters in which we are instructed rely upon our expertise in valuation matters.
Whilst our senior team members have acted as expert witnesses in hundreds of UK and international disputes and are highly experienced in giving evidence under cross examination, we also recognise that many matters can be settled prior to a hearing. We therefore always approach the quantification of losses in a commercial but robust manner in order to provide an easy to understand and credible quantum which should assist the parties in reaching settlement.
How KR8’s Commercial Disputes Team Can Help You
Our approach is to provide pragmatic and commercial advice, with our senior team members maintaining a high level of involvement in cases. Our team has the experience and expertise to make a difference. Please contact one of our experts to see how we can help you.
For further information about how we can assist in commercial disputes, please contact one of our experts.
How KR8’s Business Advisory team can help you
We work closely with stakeholders to get businesses back on track.
Whether demand for a product has fallen, an investment has not worked out as expected, or a company needs help defining its future strategy, our team — comprised of accountants, industry executives and former financial services professionals — has the expertise to make a difference.
In addition to working with management teams, our Business Advisory colleagues also support lenders and sponsors in managing investment or repayment strategies, particularly when financial risks are high.
