N - Non-commercial agreement
17/4/20
GML INTERNATIONAL LTD v HARFIELD [2020] EWHC 909 (QB)
Considers the proper approach to witness evidence and fact finding [61]. A series of payments over time amounting to £850,000 had been loans not payments of compensation. Although there were no loan agreements, the court accepted that was because the borrower was a colleague in a small firm with a family spirit. The loans were repayable on demand [109]. Considers whether the loans were regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 [110]. The loans were exempt as non-commercial agreements because they were not made in the course of business but out of kindness consistent with the evidence of the ‘family firm’ ethos of the business [113].