It has been revealed that Savills has won an Appeal Court case and is now due a commission of some £150,000 for the sale of Mill Ride Estate near Ascot in Berkshire, which sold for early £7 million in 2012.

The estate used to be land and stables but during the 1990s was laid out as a golf course with a clubhouse (pictured). It was bought by Sidemanor Ltd in 2003, a company owned by London and Argyll-based businessman Peter Blacker (pictured, left)

Savills were instructed to sell the property in 2012 and produced several valuations ranging from £2.5m to £10m, the higher of which assumed that planning permission could be gained for a large detached residence within the estate’s grounds, and vacant possession of a cottage.

Savills also produced a document outlining what was to be sold including how, should the property sell, they would be due to a fee.

This included the recommendation that the estate be sold via “private treaty” and that “we suggest that the estate is offered for sale as soon as planning consent has been granted and we advise that the marketing is initially carried out on a very private basis,” said Savills director Paul Finnegan (pictured, right) in the document, court records show.

But Mr Blacker then changed the strategy as he rushed to sell the property. He was under financial pressure to dispose of it from Barclays – who had lent him the money to buy the estate – and so wanted to sell it prior to planning permission being secured. The sales agreement between Blacker and Savills was amended and signed, although the first was not.

Sold for £6.8m

Mill Ride Estate was subsequently sold in November 2012 for £6.8 million albeit not through the agent, nevertheless Savills claimed their commission of £150,000. But this was refused after Mr Blacker claimed the estate was sold without planning permission.

Savills took Blacker’s company Sidemanor Ltd to court, claiming a commission of £120,000 plus VAT but on the October 6, 2015, this was dismissed by Judge Edward Bailey. Savills disagreed with the judgement and applied for a hearing at the Appeal Court, which took place in early February this year.

Savills won the appeal, which has only recently come to light after its lawyer Glenn Willetts (pictured, left) of Birmingham-based No5 Barristers’ Chambers released a statement about the case.

In his judgement, Lord Justice Patten said: “On the [original] judge’s construction of the agreement, Savills would have had no entitlement to commission even if they had introduced a purchaser who exchanged contracts at any time prior to planning permission. It is clear that the judge in this case adopted a literal approach.”

Lord Justice Patten allowed the appeal, and ordered the defendants to pay Savills £144,000 with interest of nearly £27,000, with costs of £80,000.

Mr Willetts, for Savills, said: “We are delighted with this outcome, which proves that marketing recommendations are simply that; they are proposals and are not binding.
“The [original] judge was wrong to say they were set in stone.”