Land and Property Law — Court Orders Removal of Barrier to the Sale of the Goldin Financial Global Centre
In a judgment dated 27 April 2023, the Hon. Madam Justice Yvonne Cheng of the High Court of Hong Kong held that a writ for an alleged breach of a Sale and Purchase Agreement between the shareholders of Smart Edge Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) and Hundred Gain International Holding Ltd (a BVI company) for the shares in Smart Edge Limited is not a lis pendens registrable in the Land Registry. Smart Edge Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) is the legal and beneficial owner of the Goldin Financial Global Centre, a 27-floor Grade A office tower located in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
SMART EDGE LIMITED 賜譽有限公司 (RECEIVERS AND MANAGERS APPOINTED) v. HG PROPERTY INVESTMENT HK LIMITED
| Reference: | [2023] HKCFI 1059 |
| Court: | COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE |
| Before: | Hon Cheng J in Court |
| Appearance: | Mr Abraham Chan SC leading Mr James Wood, instructed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, for the Plaintiff
Mr Edward Chan SC leading Mr Jeffrey Tam, instructed by Tung, Ng, Tse & Lam, for the Defendant |
| Date of Decision: | 27 April 2023 |
The judgment removes a significant barrier to the sale of the Goldin Financial Global Centre to a third-party purchaser. The sale will result in substantial recovery for the creditors of Smart Edge Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed).
James Wood, instructed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has represented Cosimo Borrelli and Simon Ma, in their capacity as the Receivers and Managers of Smart Edge Limited, since their appointment in 2020. In the process, he has worked alongside numerous Senior Counsel, including Wayne Walsh SC, Charles Manzoni SC, Eva Sit SC, and, on this occasion, Abraham Chan SC.
The full judgment can be found here.
| James Wood
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James is a seasoned litigator with over 25 years’ experience in Hong Kong. He is particularly recognised for his expertise in restructuring and insolvency, commercial fraud and financial disputes, including disputes involving asset tracing and recovery.
Before joining the Bar, James was most recently a Solicitor Advocate and Partner at Lipman Karas, now Karas So LLP in Association with Mishcon de Reya.
This article was first published on 8 May 2023.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and seeks to set out the general principles of the law. Detailed advice should therefore be sought from a legal professional relating to the individual merits and facts of a particular case. The photograph which appears in this article is included for decorative purposes only and should not be taken as a depiction of any matter to which the case is related.