The Free 2 Network Awards 2014

Friday 29th November was host to a fabulous evening at the Free 2 Network Awards at the St George Hotel in Llandudno.

The evening was hosted by founder of Free 2 Network Nina Sardar along with The Apprentice finalist and skincare entrepreneur Saira Khan.

After a fantastic and compelling speech by the hosts, the meal and awards got underway. Allington Hughes were nominated for 2 awards, Enterprise of the Year and Businessman of the year, but were unfortunately pipped to the post in both categories by some very deserving businesses.

We did however have the honour of presenting the final award of the night, Business of the Year. It must have been a very hard decision for Saira when judging the award as there were some fantastic businesses shortlisted. She eventually opted for Fabian4, an online entry service used mostly in the outdoor sports sector. 

A huge congratulations to all of the winners and nominees, and a special mention has to go to Nina and everyone involved with Free 2 Network for making every meeting such an easy and relaxed way of generating business and making important connections. 

We are very proud members of the network, and we look forward to developing our relationship further in 2015 and beyond.

For further pictures please visit our Facebook page.

The brilliant winners at the Free 2 Network awards 2014.

Allington Hughes Welcomes Christmas!

It is a long established tradition in Wrexham for Allington Hughes to sponsor the Christmas Tree, which stands pride of place in Queens Square at the heart of the town. It is a focal point in the community and we take great pride that over the last 8 years we have been able to assist with acquiring some of the most beautiful trees in the area.

This year, we have managed to do the same for Llanrwst, another town in which we feel very much part of the community with one of our offices situated in the town centre.

We also try to get involved with the Chester Christmas Tree every year so we can complete the set and have one near each of our offices, unfortunately this has so far proved fruitless, however we will continue to try until we are successful! 

Alongside the Christmas Trees, Allington Hughes will be taking part in the Save the Children Christmas Jumper day on 12th December. 

If you or your company would like to be involved please visit http://jumpers.savethechildren.org.uk/  or if you would like to donate, please text TEAMALLINGTO to 70050 to donate £2.

We are full of Christmas cheer at Allington Hughes, and everyone at the firm would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a fantastic festive period.

Our three offices will close at 1pm on 24th December and reopen at 8.45am on 2nd January 2015.

 Wrexham Christmas Tree

 Llanrwst Christmas Tree 

Commonwealth Fencing Silver For David Gregory

David Gregory is a local Fencer who many of the firm have had the pleasure of meeting. 

We found out about David's goal to achieve a medal at the Commonwealth Championships a few months ago now, and we were delighted to sponsor him and help out with his campaign.

This week David has been competing in Largs in Scotland with the Welsh team, and was part of a terrific effort to bring home a medal from the tournament.

The Wales team made it all the way to the final of the competition, but unfortunately lost to Singapore in a closely contested final.

Allington Hughes would like to take this opportunity to congratulate David and the Welsh team on their fantastic achievement by winning the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Fencing Championships. Well done guys!

Sponsored fencer David Gregory with his Commonwealth Championships Silver medal.

New Personnel and Promotions at Allington Hughes

Allington Hughes have made some key additions over the last few months in a number of areas along with some internal promotions for key members of staff.

The development of talent has always been at the core of the firm, with over 50% of the current Directors undergoing their training at Allington Hughes and progressing their career all the way through to becoming a director.

This has been the catalyst for some young and fresh additions to the firm. Ben Whiting, 23, has joined the Wrexham office as a Paralegal in the Conveyancing department while he undergoes his Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Christleton. 

Sarah Beeley is also a Paralegal at the Wrexham office studying to become a Chartered Legal Executive. Sarah is currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and is mainly based within our Wills and Probate team.

Our Family Law team in Wrexham also has a young Paralegal working within the team; Rachel D'abreu has been at the firm for a couple of months now.

Another exciting new addition to the firm is Ian Williams; A specialist Chartered Legal Executive who has returned to live in North Wales following 4 years working in Cardiff. Ian is a native of Caernarfon and will take up a position in our Llanrwst office at the beginning of December.

Ian completed his Law Degree at Bangor University in 2008 before going on to complete his Legal Practice Course at Aberystwyth University in 2009. Since leaving Caernarfon in January 2011, Ian went on to work for Hugh James in Cardiff where he specialised in Civil Litigation, namely Personal Injury.

Ian Commented. “It’s great to be back in the local area. I hope to bring my experience gained from working in Cardiff to the local area and it is a dream for me to work for such a well respected firm like Allington Hughes.” 

There have also been promotions in the firm recently, with Justine Reynolds becoming Principal Solicitor in the Family Law team at our Chester office.

Criminal Solicitor Ian Barnes has also been promoted to Principal Solicitor in our Wrexham office having recently completed examinations to become a Solicitor-Advocate, meaning he can now represent clients at the Crown Court and Court of Appeal, on top of already representing them through all stages of their case.

Allington Hughes are very proud of it's succession planning, and continuing the influx of young talent coupled with strengthening in key areas shows the firms determination to expand and develop.

Some of the team at Allington Hughes Ltd

Employment Law Update: Overtime and Holidays

Overtime should count towards the calculation of holiday

In the landmark case of Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton (and others conjoined) case, the Employment Appeals Tribunal today passed its Judgment.

The primary finding affecting workers and employers being that overtime should be taken into account when calculating a worker’s holiday pay.

This means therefore that where a worker engages in overtime for a sufficient period, their holiday pay should include any overtime, as well as commission, thereby reflecting their normal remuneration.

Under the Working Time Regulations workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday which can include public holidays. The finding that overtime should count towards holiday entitlement only applies to the basic 4 weeks leave and not the additional 1.6 weeks.

It will come of some relief to employers that the EAT concluded however that where there is a break of more than 3 months between any holiday pay claims, an Employment Tribunal will not have jurisdiction to hear the earlier claims. This will serve to restrict so much as possible, a worker’s ability to bring valuable claims for underpaid holiday pay.

This is by no means the end of the matter. Vince Cable has already confirmed that he is setting up a taskforce to assess the possible impact of the ruling on holiday pay. The EAT have also already granted permission for this decision to be appealed and be dealt with by the Court of Appeal, the outcome of which however will undoubtedly be some time away. 

In the meantime it would be prudent for employers to take stock of their current working practices and potential liabilities as a result of this matter in the anticipation of potential holiday pay claims. 

If you feel this is a matter which may affect you, contact our Employment Law team on 01978 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester or 01492 641222 for Llanrwst or visit www.allingtonhughes.co.uk

Melissa Bramwell is part of the Employment Law team at Allington Hughes.

Welshpool Saler Cattle Sale 18/10/14

After a budding relationship formed at this years Royal Welsh Show, Allington Hughes were delighted to be sponsoring the 1^st Autumn Show Sale for the Saler Cattle Society.

The sale was held in Welshpool Livestock Market, and here we have a brief overview of the results.

The judge was Mr Evans from Maescarneddau, Llanwyddyn and he had a good selection of animals to judge. 

The winner of the female championship was Coland Fiona owned and exhibited by Mr Dennis Rogers. She then sold for £2,600.

 The winner of the male championship and the overall champion was Seawell Icebreaker owned by P.M.& S.M.Donger and he sold for £3,100. 

The top price of the sale, £4,000, was paid for a commercial heifer an her calf owned by Harri Pritchard – who is the current Society Chairman.

We look forward to continuing a very enjoyable relationship with the Saler Cattle Society, and look forward to being involved with future events.

Director of Allington Hughes Ltd Rachel Wynn Jones with the prize winning Saler Cattle

The Free 2 Network Business Awards 2014 - Finalists

Free 2 Network is a regular networking group that spans North Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire. With almost 20 different venues, the network is a fantastic place to meet new contacts and generate new business.

Allington Hughes have been Corporate members of the network for just under a year now, and we recently blogged about our involvement with the up and coming Free 2 Network Business Awards.

The awards finalists have been decided by this years celebrity guest judge, which is The Apprentice finalist and skincare entrepreneur, Saira Khan.

We are partnering the prestigious 'Business of the Year' award, with the finalists comprising of Handy Office, A470 Training, Fabian4 Online, Woods Squared and Carbon Zero Renewables. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the finalists and also everyone else who entered such a competitive category!

We are very excited to be shortlisted for 2 awards, the first being the 'Rachel Elnaugh Enterprise Award', which is judged on businesses showing initiative by being enterprising with the way they engage with their customer base.

Marketing Manager Louie Middlehurst has also been nominated for the 'Business Man of the Year' award.

The glittering awards ceremony will be held at the St Georges hotel on Friday 28th November and we would like to wish all of the finalists the very best of luck!

Selling Your Business? A Legal MOT

After being with Allington Hughes for over 40 years, from his training in 1971, through qualifying as a solicitor in 1975 and becoming a Partner in 1978, David Parry has seen it all when it comes to business.

David has taken the time to produce a Legal MOT detailing some of the common pitfalls when selling a business, and we dearly hope they are of use.:

"I deal with a lot of business sales during the course of the year and it’s well worth looking at some basic matters well before anything of this nature comes along as it can be very stressful to have to deal with basic legal and accountancy matters when so much else is happening at the same time.

1. The most important tip is “check your lease” - if your business operates from these premises only and the lease has only a short time to run, or has actually expired, the business is effectively unsaleable until this has been sorted out and you could then be looking vulnerable to a landlord who becomes aware of your intention to sell. I have had to renegotiate leases several times this year and, at the best, there is a significant delay in dealing with the sale transaction, and it clearly could be a lot worse.

2. "See your accountant” - don’t just deal with him/her at arm’s length each year about the accounts, arrange a meeting to discuss all aspects of your business, coupled with the suggestion that you might be considering a sale: there have been fundamental changes to the capital allowances rules which came into effect in April 2012 and, whilst these primarily relate to purchasers, you should be sure to get the best possible guidance from your accountant on all aspects of your business.

3. Still on the tax aspects, take a deep breath and “visit the HMRC website”: every time I go on to this, I am astonished at the quality of the information they give you – suggestions, model calculations and authoritative guidance. A lot of people think it will be impossible to understand, but the reverse is the case, and it could be really helpful, as well as profitable for your business, to get familiar with this massive site. It might also make your meeting with the accountant really beneficial to the bottom line of your accounts!

4. “Contact your lawyer at an early stage” - a brief initial chat will help enormously, so that preparatory work can be put in place, and it won’t trigger an enormous bill. I get a lot of matters where people think there is a saving to be made by leaving the legal work until the very last minute – I promise you this is not the best thing to do as it is always more expensive to have to drop everything else to service something which might have been dealt with in a more realistic time frame. It is also really worrying and stressful from the lawyer’s point of view – nobody likes having to rush things.

5. “Don’t go on holiday!” - I’ve actually had several transactions where the client gave me

instructions on a complex matter which would inevitably involve a lot of contact with them about the sale and then, at the end, mentioned that he was just leaving on holiday the next day – definitely not a good idea! Go away when it’s all over.

I hope these are of some practical help – best of luck with your business in the meantime!"

If you would like any further information on Business related matters, or anything else, then please feel free to get in touch with us on 09178 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester or 01492 641222 for Llanrwst.

David Parry has been a partner at Allington Hughes since 1978.

D2R Foundation - Athlete Update

As you may have seen a few months ago, Allington Hughes have got involved with a fantastic new project supporting a sports foundation created by our Olympic Sailing hopeful Chris Russell.

The Allington Hughes Grant helps a group of young athletes who are on the verge of becoming international stars, yet receive no support from their respective sporting bodies. This is where the D2R foundation has come into play by providing a strong network of  services and personnel to help further develop the athletes' career. 

Here is how the athletes have been getting on over the last few months!

Benajmin Wempe (Sailing):  After one of the most successful summer periods, which saw him claim a Bronze medal at the Laser Youth World Championships, Benjamin has refocused his effort on his first year of University in Holland.  He aims to combine study with his campaign, with the next main regatta being the Dutch National Championship later this moth.

Xavi Tous (Sailing):  Xavi continues to train hard behind the scenes and is looking to peak for the forthcoming Europa Cup events in October.

Dewi Couvert (Sailing):  Similar to Benjamin, Dewi began her degree in Medicine in late August with the intention of balancing her sport and studies.  With the World Championships scheduled for home dutch waters next year, her eyes are set firmly on a prize.

Sarah Grace Spencer (Lacrosse):  Sarah Grace began pre-season training with the Welsh team earlier this month and is now back to regular winter practice ahead of what promises to be a great year or her.  Qualification for a spot on the World Cup team is up for grabs.

Jade Paveley (Motorsport):  Is preparing for the next stage in her seasons rally campaign - preparation has been going well and she continues to attract great attention from the world of Motorsport.

We are very proud to be supporting these young athletes, and we look forward to bringing further updates and competition results in the very near future.

The D2R Athletes during a team building exercise in North Wales during their recent week long training camp.

Ras Fawr Llanddoged 2014

This year Allington Hughes Ltd t/a Cyfraith JRL Law sponsored the annual 12.5km Ras Fawr Llanddoged on Sunday 7th September.

The race is performed along one of the most scenic courses in Wales as its challenging route follows the rural lanes above the village of Llanddoged near Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley.

Whilst this year’s race was slightly down on the quantity of its runners, the quality of the runners and the times more than made up for this with all the top 3 runners postings times which would have won 8 of the last 15 events. 

First to finish was Prestatyn RC runner Dean Longley whose time of 44 minutes 25 seconds was the second fastest time ever (beaten only by ex GB International runner, and 6 time Snowdon Race winner, Andi Jones). Second to finish was Brendan Rothery (45m45s-PB) who had won the race three times previously and who finished just over a minute ahead of local resident, and first over 40, John Ford (46m48s-PB). 

The first lady to finish was Abbie Cheetham, also of Prestatyn RC, who knocked a fantastic 13 and a half minutes off her time the previous year to finish in 57minutes 57 seconds. Second lady to finish was Emma Collins (60m1s), with Gemma Brown (62m20s) third. 

Other category prizes went to Darren Blazier, Kevin Slattery, Tony Hill and Kay Hatton. The Bob Owen Memorial team prize went to the Abergele Harriers, the Arfon Jones Memorial Prize for the first member of the North Wales Road Runners club to finish went to John Ford and the prize for the first unattached local runner went to Tomos Smith. 

We were delighted to be involved with a great local event together with our friends at Spar Llanrwst who very kindly provided water and sports drinks to keep the participants going.

Allington Hughes t/a Cyfraith JRL Law were delighted to be able to support the Ras Fawr LLanddoged in 2014.

Hydropower as an Enterprise; Time to go Green?

Renewable Energy projects are fast approaching tourism as the main source of diversification income on UK farms. Hydropower is of particular interest to farmers in Wales, especially since the introduction of Feed-In Tariffs (FIT’s).

FIT’s allow individuals to invest in small-scale low-carbon electricity, in return for a guaranteed payment from an electricity supplier of their choice for the electricity they generate and use as well as a guaranteed payment for unused surplus electricity they export back to the grid.

As attractive as this may seem, it is important that the correct level of research is undertaken at the outset before committing to any Renewable Energy project.

Although the thought of having to spend a considerable amount of money at such an early stage in the process may be off-putting, failure to do so could prove to be very costly in the future.  

Some of the points that need to be considered are as follows:  

1. Is my land suitable? 

1. Is there sufficient water flow in both winter and summer?
2. Is there sufficient fall in the water flow across the land?
3. Are connections to the grid available at an affordable cost?
4. Will it be possible to obtain a water abstraction licence and impoundment consent?
5. Will planning permission be granted?
6. Is access to enable construction going to be a problem? 

2. The experience of the engineers and contractors (i.e. track record). References should be obtained from individuals who have dealt with the engineers and contractors you propose to instruct?

3. Creditworthiness of the parties involved. Many companies are formed and dissolved overnight. This has left many individuals out of pocket as often large up-front payments are required before the construction process can proceed?  

4. The availability and timing of any finance involved?

5. Lease arrangements for the land if you are a Tenant?

6. Ownership of the watercourse e.g. does the land on the other side of the stream belong to someone else?

The above points are only a brief outline of the issues that need to be considered. Provided that the correct investigations are undertaken at the outset, Renewable Energy Projects can and do offer a great opportunity for those who wish to diversify to increase farm profits and reduce environmental impact.  

We can offer specialist advice on any legal issues you may have in connection with Hydro, Wind and Solar Energy Enterprises.

For more information on this or any other Agricultural matter please contact Edward H.Nutting Director at Allington Hughes Limited t/a Cyfraith JRL Law on: 01492 641 222 or email edward@jrl-law.co.uk

Ed Nutting is a director of Allington Hughes Ltd based in the Llanrwst office.

Force 300 - Dramatic Weather Results in Change of Course for Sailing World Record Attempt

Allington Hughes' sponsored professional sailor and Olympic hopeful Chris Russell has set a new World Record for ‘the longest single handed, non-stop distance sailed by a male, unassisted in a dinghy’.

Chris set out to break the overall existing World Record (set by female sailor Tania Callas at 282 nautical miles), but extreme wind and waves resulted in an initial change of course, miles lost and eventually it was deemed too dangerous for Chris to stay on the water any longer.

Chris made the difficult decision to abort the attempt at 20:45 on Wednesday 20 August 2014, having spent over 16 hours on the water and sailed over 100 nautical miles. This effort still set a new world record for ‘the longest single handed, non-stop distance sailed by a male, unassisted in a dinghy’, which is now awaiting verification from Guinness. This was Chris’ first ever World Record attempt and despite having fallen short of his initial goal, he aims to try for the overall record again within the next six months.

Chris had intended to sail from Porth Eirias, Colwyn Bay, across the Irish channel to the shoreline near Dublin port and back again. However the weather dictated Chris’ journey stayed in and around the Colwyn Bay and North Wales coastline. Chris’ attempt was closely monitored by a land-based crew and he was followed by a support team and an independent adjudicator in a rib at all times.

Chris Russell commented, “I'm exhausted, but extremely satisfied with the performance myself and everyone else in the team put in over the last 30 hours.

“We started out in near perfect conditions, but within one hour of setting off we were unexpectedly hit by a really bad patch of weather and my average speed dropped significantly. By the halfway point [approximately 15 hours into the attempt] I knew that achieving the goal of 300 nautical miles would have taken me beyond the safety time limit I'd set for the challenge. However, I was determined to log as many miles as I could before the wind died at sunset.

“I'm confident that I've been able to set at least one new World Record over the last 24hours and I'm very proud of the results from this challenge. It was a great learning experience and it is without a shadow of a doubt that I'll try again to break the 300 nautical mile barrier in the very near future! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone around me for continuing to support me, and help make challenges like this a reality."

Everyone at Allington Hughes would like to congratulate Chris on a truly heroic effort, and we look forward to supporting him even more in his goal to hit that 300 mile World Record.

Chris Russell ready to take off from Porth Eirias on his World Record attempt

Force 300 - World Record Attempt!

Professional sailor and Olympic hopeful Chris Russell will be attempting a World Record for ‘the longest single handed, non-stop distance sailed, unassisted in a dinghy’ throughout Wednesday 20 August and Thursday 21 August. The current world record, according to Guinness, is 282 nautical miles – Chris is aiming to sail 300 miles, under the campaign name Force300.

Chris will set off from Porth Eirias, Colwyn Bay at first light on Wednesday 20 August and plans to sail back and forth across the Irish Channel multiple times (weather permitting). Jade Paveley, Motorsport driver and representative from one of the event’s sponsors North Wales Honda, will mark the occasion by ‘christening’ the boat with a bottle of champagne. Among the team following Chris on the sea are two sailors that compete professionally worldwide – Xavi Tous and Benjamin Wempe – and an impartial adjudicator.

Chris, Jade, Xavi and Benjamin are all athletes that Allington Hughes are proud to be supporting. We have been involved with Chris' campaign to reach the Rio Olympic games for a while now, plus Jade, Xavi and Benjamin are all part of the D2R Foundation which we recently became involved with. 

Upon completion of his attempt, Chris will be celebrating his achievement at Colwyn Bay beach on Sunday 24 August 2014 at 2pm. The celebrations will run concurrently with PromXtra – which stretches across the two-mile promenade at Colwyn Bay, and had a turnout of almost 80,000 people last year. Members of the public, supporters and sponsors are encouraged to join Chris and the crew at the Force300 area of the beach on Sunday. 

This will be Chris’ first ever World Record attempt and he will be documenting the build-up and the journey itself online. He will be providing live progress updates throughout the attempt via #Force300, his twitter handle @CRSailing, and the Force300 Facebook page. Chris will need plenty of words of encouragement to help him endure the challenges faced when attempting to travel over 300 miles alone at sea, and supporters are encouraged to use these social media reaches to do just that. 

Everyone at Allington Hughes would like to wish Chris the very best of luck, and we have complete confidence in his ability to break that World Record! 

Chris Russell is attempting to sail 300 miles non-stop and unassisted in order to break the world record.

Denbigh and Flint Show 2014

Thursday 21st August brings around this years Denbigh and Flint Agricultural Show at The Green in Denbigh.

The show attracts people from all walks of life to enjoy a day out looking through the various stands at the show, watching the numerous agricultural competitions taking place and enjoying some friendly chat with a nice hot cup of tea from the hundreds of exhibitors.

Allington Hughes will again be partnering up with Wright Marshall (formerly Wright Manley) again this year, and we are thoroughly looking forward to seeing as many people as possible.

As per usual we will be providing refreshments throughout the day, but for the lucky crowd who fill our gazebo at around midday there will be some delicious homemade sandwiches and cakes produced by Stuart Russell from The Kitchen.

There will be a large presence at the Allington Hughes stand, and our team from the Llanrwst office will also be at the show representing the NFU Cymru so be sure to pop along there too!

We will be having our customary Luxury Hamper competition and lots of free giveaways to go along with it.

So if you are already going or contemplating a day out, be sure to pop by stand H5 and say hello! Everyone is invited! 

The Free 2 Network Awards 2014

Allington Hughes are very proud corporate members of local networking group Free 2 Network. 

The network is made up of well over 100 members who meet on a weekly basis across a number of venues in North Wales and Cheshire. With over 300 events a year, the network is one that continues to deliver for its members and combines a relaxed atmosphere with the opportunity to forge strong business relationships.

Every year, Free 2 Network has an awards evening to celebrate the achievements of business and entrepreneurs. The awards come in all shapes and size from Male and Female Entrepreneur of the year, to Green Business of the year and Networker of the Year.

Allington Hughes have decided to partner one of the awards this year and have chosen the coveted Business of the Year award. 

Each year the awards attracts a celebrity guest judge from the world of business. In 2013, Rachel Elnaugh, one of the original dragons from the hit BBC show Dragons Den was the celebrity judge. This year, Saira Khan, a finalist in The Apprentice and skincare entrepreneur will be taking on the role and deciding who the awards will be presented to.

The awards are held at a glittering event in the St Georges hotel in November, and we will be sure to keep everyone informed of the deserving winners for 2014!

If you would like more information on Free 2 Network or the Awards themselves, please visit the website here.

The Free 2 Network Award partners for 2014.

The Allington Hughes Free Drop in Service

At Allington Hughes we feel it is necessary to offer our assistance to the local community wherever it is appropriate. This has recently come in the form of free drop in clinics held at our Wrexham and Chester offices.

Every Monday we open our doors for Housing, Family Law and Employment Law advice from  9.30am to 12.30pm in our Wrexham office.

Every Tuesday from 9.30am to 12.30pm our Chester office offers the same service for Employment matters.

The service we offer is completely free of charge, and there is no booking required as it is specifically designed to try and be convenient for people just wanting a brief insight into their legal issue. This is often used to see whether any further action is needed, in which case they must make more formal arrangements to see a solicitor.

Any of our specialist advisers are available to be seen across our three offices in Llanrwst, Chester and Wrexham. 

The McLintocks Golf League 2014 - Winners!

Each year our friends over at McLintocks Chartered Accountants organise a golf league for the local professionals of Chester and the surrounding area. 

The league takes place at Chester Golf Club, over three separate rounds of golf between professionals from Banking, Wealth Management, Accounting and Solicitors.

Last year, the title was won by Jonathan Seddon of Seddon Wealth Management and he was keen to retain his crown this year. 

Here is a brilliant little piece written by McLintocks to sum up the final day of competition:

The final round of the McLintocks golf league took place on Thursday 17th July at Chester Golf Club in sweltering heat on the same day as the first day of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Talk around the practice putting green was all about Rory McIroy’s impressive first round score of 66 in the morning as everyone was trying not to think too much about their own game and the 27oC temperature!

Lots of friendly banter was exchanged on the first tee as the competitors were all trying to gain a mental edge. Louie Middlehurst from Allington Hughes, the leaders hit his tee shot out of bounds on the first so some of it must have worked!!. Jonathan Seddon from Seddon Wealth Management and Neil Chaddock from McLintocks had a great front 9 and carded an impressive 22 points. This put Seddon Wealth Management into the overall lead going into the back 9 by 2 points. When Jonathan Seddon chipped in on the stroke index 1 13th hole for 4 points Allington Hughes were rattled and thought their chance was gone. Could the defending champions win for a second year?. Then Louie Middlehurst rose to the challenge and even though he was behind a tree on the 16th hole he managed to hook his second shot around the trees and onto the green to 10 feet, shot of the day!!. He duly rolled his putt in for birdie and four points to regain the overall lead.

By the 18th everyone was gasping for a cold pint and we were all hoping that the power was back on in the clubhouse. Fortunately it was and the presentation was made by Mike Caputo and Neil Chaddock from McLintocks to the champion Louie Middlehurst from Allington Hughes who finished with an impressive combined score of 120 points 1 ahead of last years champions Seddon Wealth Management.

Allington Hughes would like to thank McLintocks for all of the effort that goes into organising the league, it truly is a fantastic event. There must also be thanks to all of the competitors who support the league on each occasion and make playing in it so much fun, there really are some great friends and associates made. 

Bring on Next year!

Mike Caputo of McLintocks presenting Louie Middlehurst of Allington Hughes with the trophy alongside organiser Neil Chaddock also of McLintocks.

The Allington Hughes Captains Golf Day 2014

July 11th saw the return of the Allington Hughes and North Wales Crusaders captains golf day.

The Nicklaus course at Carden Park was again the venue, with a field of over 40 taking to the course to battle it out and be crowned champion for 2014.

Yet again we were very fortunate with the weather, with the sun blazing all day and barely a breath of wind to be felt. 11 teams entered the competition, with many including one of the players from the North Wales Crusaders.

There were some very competent scores within the first groups, however it was when the 2nd to last group of David Walker and his team handed in their card, that the truly outstanding score of the day was found. Playing a stableford format, with the best 2 scores out of the 4 players on each hole to count, a total of 99 points was enough to secure a 7 point victory for David and his team.

One of the members in David's team, Steve Platt, also won the individual prize with a very impressive solo score of 43 points.

Second place was secured by the Urban Developments team, who carded 92 points.

There is a photo album of the day on our facebook page.

We would like to thank everyone who was involved with the day, it was a superb event and we look forward to welcoming you all again next year. 

The fantastic Carden Park was the setting for the Allington Hughes Captains Golf Day

David Gregory - Commonwealth Games Fencer

This month, Allington Hughes has added another highly talented athlete to the ever growing list of local sporting talent that we are sponsoring.

David Gregory is the reigning British Epee Champion and currently ranked 6th in the UK. David is a certain pick for team GB at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting later this month and has been hard in training over the last few weeks.

David is another athlete who goes under the radar in terms of funding by his national sporting body. With the Epee division of Fencing gaining very low levels of television coverage, the athletes involved find it very difficult to make a living from performing the sport due to lack of sponsorship opportunities. 

David has been juggling his training with a number of jobs in order to try and fund his goal of winning a medal at the Glasgow games.

Allington Hughes are delighted to give David a helping hand in his mission, and we are also thrilled that another of our projects, the D2R Foundation, are working with David in order to ensure he gets the best possible support to compete at the highest level when in Glasgow.

We wish David the best of luck and will be sure to keep everyone updated on his progress and how he gets on in Glasgow towards the start of August.

Marketing Consultant Louie Middlehurst with British Epee Fencing champion David Gregory

The D2R (Dreams to Reality) Foundation - Allington Hughes Performance Grant

The D2R Foundation and Allington Hughes Ltd have signed a strategic agreement to assist with the development of athlete performance. 

The partnership sees the North Wales based law-firm, join forces with the newly established sports foundation, which aims to empower youth athletes by giving them the tools and access to services and support they need to achieve their goals. 

The D2R Foundation was launched last month, and the signing of such a partnership is to be expected given the high-profile athletes already on its roster.

 The announcement reaffirms Allington Hughes’ commitment to supporting the local community; and builds upon its already impressive portfolio of activities and athletes, which includes Olympic-level Sailor Chris Russell, the Chester Food& Drink Festival, The North Wales Crusaders Rugby League team, Commonwealth Games fencer David Gregory, Snowdonia’s Charity Cyclists plus agricultural shows such as the Flint and Denbigh show and The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show. 

The Foundation said earlier: 

“Having Allington Hughes support the D2R Foundation is extremely exciting”, said Chris Russell, Founder of D2R.  “A lot of the hidden costs of professional sport are the non glamorous things – to some extent its easier to cover the bigger, more publicly visible costs, however the travel, event entry fees, small amounts of new gear at critical times…those are the things which make a big difference to an athlete.  By removing the obstacle these athletes face having to focus on finding financial support, we can enable them to focus on what they do best”. 

Louie Middlehurst, Marketing Manager for Allington Hughes added, “Having supported many local athletes and teams in the past with their mission to perform at an elite level, we understand how important a strong support network can be. It is with great pride we are now involved with the D2R foundation, and hope that we can provide as much help as possible to turn the young talent of our generation into the home grown world class athletes of the future.”   

This partnership has enabled both the D2R Foundation and Allington Hughes to create a unique offering for local athletes.

The Allington Hughes Performance Grant will be administered through the Foundation, and will target the key essentials for performance enablement.  

 “The grant system is a great idea we've come up with not only to help administer support in a structured and fair way, but to ensure that the right athlete has access to funds at the right time.  It adds a lot of sustainability to our funding program, and more importantly, it adds an extra layer of financial security and stability for our athletes”, Chris adds. 

 “By creating a grant with the Foundation, we hope to enable a select group of elite youth athletes who have been overlooked for funding by their respective sporting bodies. Allington Hughes believes very strongly in grass roots development and hope to be a major facilitator in the development of these young people both in and out of their sporting lives. Once again it is truly a pleasure to be involved with a project that can help so many people, and really give them the best chance at achieving their goals.”  added Louie. 

The D2R Foundation and Allington Hughes begin their exciting partnership effective immediately, and look forward to publishing regular updates of how the athletes are getting on in training and competition. 

There will be regular updates of the D2R foundation athletes in the photo album on our Facebook page. 

Louie Middlehurst of Allington Hughes Ltd, Chris Russell - Founder of D2R Foundation, Georgina Outten - D2R athlete, Jade Povey - D2R Athlete

For more information on the D2R Foundation please visit www.d2rfoundation.com

For more information on Allington Hughes please visit www.allingtonhughes.com

Sporting and Shooting Rights, Do you know the Law?

Sporting rights generally include the right to shoot, fish and hunt. The rights to hunt and shoot and sporting rights together with other associated rights such as the right to rear, preserve or keep game can exist in various ways. For example, the landowner may own the land and the right to hunt, shoot etc. This does not cause any problems. However, problems can and do arise in the following situations:

1. When the rights to shoot are held by the landowner and the land is farmed or occupied by a tenant; or

2. The land is owned by one person but the sporting rights are held by a previous owner of the land who retained the rights when the land was sold off.

The owner of the shooting rights can take reasonable steps to preserve that right, steps which would otherwise be a trespass. The emphasis here being on "reasonable steps" as a right to shoot for example does not in the absence of express additional words imply the right to bring game onto the land or rear game on the land.

It is essential that both parties are familiar with the wording of the original grant. More often than not, the owner of the sporting rights assumes that the right to shoot gives them an automatic right to rear game on the land. This may be as a result of not knowing the difference between the right to shoot and the right to rear game etc. Or, it may well be that the person wishing to retain the rights intended that the associated rights of rearing game should be reserved but the advisor at the time failed to include the correct wording in the original grant. It is therefore essential that the advice of a suitably qualified person is obtained when drafting clauses relating to shooting rights etc.

If the wording does include both a right to shoot and rear game, overstocking of land with game may justify a claim for damages by person affected by the overstocking. If the original grant reserved only a right to shoot the owner of the right will have no protection against such a claim. If the wording in the deed allows for the rearing or preserving game this could result in protection from what would otherwise be a nuisance.

These issues can be avoided if the correct advice is sought ideally when the grant is made but failing that before any rights are exercised.

For more information on this or any other Agricultural Matter please contact Edward H. Nutting, Director  at Allington Hughes Limited t/a Cyfraith JRL Law on: 01492 641 222 or email edward@jrl-law.co.uk.