Nicholas Wright

Nicholas has broad experience of commercial chancery cases.

• Strand Hanson Limited v Conduit Pharmaceuticals Limited (ongoing):Acting for a biotech company in a c.$80 million claim brought by a merchant bank arising from the alleged operation of a “tail gunner” clause in an advisory services agreement (led by Jonathan Crow CVO, KC and Andrew Green KC).
• Acting for the funder of a property development joint venture in relation to allegations of misappropriation of a six figure sum by the managing director (as sole counsel).
• Acting for the Claimant in proceedings to recover c.£2.25 million due under a loan agreement arising from the sale of a medical technology business (as sole counsel).
• Acting for a lender in a claim brought against it for c.£2.4 million in losses caused by allegedly defective credit reporting (as sole counsel).
• Acting for a high net worth individual in relation to attempts by receivers to sell a property, including preparing an injunction application (led by Aidan Casey KC).
• Obtaining a general civil restraint order in favour of a group of financial services companies against a serial litigant who claimed to have been the victim of “mis-selling” of investment products managed by one group entity.
• Assisting Lord Briggs (as a Judicial Assistant) in relation to Guest v Guest, a significant case before the Supreme Court on the proper basis for remedies in proprietary estoppel claims.

Nicholas has acted in a number of commercial claims, with a particular focus on contractual disputes and economic tort claims.

• Secretary of State for Health and Social Care v PPE Medpro Limited: Acting for the Department of Health and Social Care in its highly publicised claims against PPE Medpro Limited for in excess of £130 million arising from the supply of allegedly defective PPE to DHSC during the Covid-19 pandemic (led by Paul Stanley KC, Tiran Nersessian and Albert Sampson).
• Acting for a property developer on a c.£1.5 million negligence claim against an insurance broker which allegedly failed to pass on relevant information to an insurer resulting in the insurer refusing to pay when a property covered by the policy was destroyed by fire (as sole counsel).
• Acting for a Mayfair casino in a c.£1.75 million claim against a Saudi businessman arising from unpaid gambling debts (as sole counsel).
• Acting for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to defend a claim by a contractual counterparty alleging wrongful termination of a contract and misrepresentations to the market (led by George Bompas KC).
• Obtaining summary judgment on behalf of a Mayfair casino on a £2.5 million claim for unpaid gambling debts against a high net worth individual (as sole counsel)

Company work is a core area of Nicholas’ practice. He has wide-ranging experience of shareholder and joint venture disputes, including unfair prejudice petitions, derivative claims and breach of fiduciary duty claims against directors.

• Acting for the Respondent in a three day expedited ad hoc arbitration in relation to the implementation of a Court-ordered demerger of a substantial property business and allegations of misappropriation of company funds (led by Alexander Cook KC and with Honor Brocklebank-Fowler).
• Regularly acting for both directors and the Secretary of State in director disqualification proceedings.
• Acting for the Respondents to an unfair prejudice petition brought against them on the grounds of alleged breaches of fiduciary duty as directors and breaches of the Articles of Association.
• Successfully obtaining the dismissal at the permission stage of a derivative claim against a director accused of misappropriating over £500,000 from a company.
• Preparing an expert report for use in foreign proceedings on whether a high net worth individual accused of tax evasion had ever become a shareholder in a company listed on the London Stock Exchange as a matter of English law.
• Acting for two founders of restaurant business in dispute with their investor in negotiations to put in place a new Shareholders’ Agreement and Articles of Association.
• NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd: Nicholas acted in LCIA arbitrations concerning a shareholder dispute over control of the Cypriot holding company of a large mine in the CIS region. This eventually included an antisuit injunction arbitration to restrain proceedings in Cyprus and three consolidated arbitrations on the merits. The case particularly addressed questions of the limits of arbitrability in the company law context which were eventually addressed by the High Court in NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd [2022] EWHC 1682 (Comm) (led by Aidan Casey KC and Alexander Cook KC).
• Acting for the Petitioner in an unfair prejudice petition concerning a 50/50 joint venture company incorporated to carry out a large property development. The case settled immediately following presentation of the petition on highly favourable terms to the Petitioner (led by David Lord KC).

Litigating and advising on fraud claims form a significant part of Nicholas’ work. Notable cases include:

• Acting for the Defendants to an eight figure deceit and unlawful means conspiracy claim arising out of the sale of shares in an international sports franchise, and in a claim brought by the Defendants against a third party for breach of contract and unlawful means conspiracy in relation to an alleged blackmail scheme (led by Andrew Hunter KC).
• Instructed by the Government of Guernsey in respect of a claim under the Forfeiture of Money in Civil Proceedings (Guernsey) Law 2007 in respect of c.$15m held in various bank accounts in Guernsey and alleged to be the proceeds of unlawful conduct (led by Alexander Cook KC).
• Obtaining a £5 million without notice freezing injunction before Sir Anthony Mann in support of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty, knowing receipt, dishonest assistance and unlawful means conspiracy arising out of the alleged misappropriation of a business and its assets shortly before it entered administration (as sole counsel).
• Assisting Sharif Shivji KC and Tom Gentlemen with various aspects of Autonomy Corporation Ltd v Dr Michael Lynch, a $5 billion claim brought by Hewlett Packard and Autonomy against Dr Michael Lynch, Autonomy’s founder and CEO, in relation to an alleged accounting fraud, as a pupil.

Nicholas has been involved in a number of arbitrations, in particular under the LCIA Rules, including:

• Acting for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in an LCIA arbitration, and related proceedings for a stay in favour of arbitration before the High Court (led by George Bompas KC).
• A confidential ad hoc arbitration: Acting in a shareholder dispute over the enforcement of a court-ordered demerger of a substantial family property holding company involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of assets and in related proceedings for contempt of court against the dominant director. The dispute was settled following an ad hoc arbitration (led by Alexander Cook KC and with Honor Brocklebank-Fowler).
• NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd: Nicholas acted in LCIA arbitrations concerning a shareholder dispute over control of the Cypriot holding company of a large mine in the CIS region. This eventually included an antisuit injunction arbitration to restrain proceedings in Cyprus and three consolidated arbitrations on the merits. The case particularly addressed questions of the limits of arbitrability in the company law context which were eventually addressed by the High Court in NDK Ltd v HUO Holding Ltd [2022] EWHC 1682 (Comm) (led by Aidan Casey KC and Alexander Cook KC).
• Assisting Lord Briggs (as a Judicial Assistant) in AIC Ltd v Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria [2022] UKSC 16, a case concerning the circumstances in which the Court will enforce arbitration awards.
• Assisting Mo Haque KC and Alexander Cook KC in VTB Commodities Trading DAC v Antipinsky Refinery [2019] EWHC 3292 (Comm), a claim under s.32 of the Arbitration Act for the Court to determine the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal also involving issues of service out of the jurisdiction.

Nicholas has experience of both personal and corporate insolvency and restructuring work, including:

• Acting for an English company in administration in relation to proceedings brought against it by Gibraltar liquidators for knowing receipt, preferences and transactions at an undervalue and acting for the English company in claims against its former directors arising from allegedly unlawful dividends totalling c.£25 million (led by Alexander Cook KC).
• Re Ager-Hanssen: Acting for the petitioning creditor in ongoing insolvency proceedings concerning a prominent Norwegian businessman (led by Alexander Cook KC).
• Re Snoek: Successfully acting for a supporting creditor in bankruptcy proceedings against the guarantor of various facilities granted to South African commodities dealers on a multi-party disputed debt hearing.
• Advising on the orderly closing out of the liquidation of a financial services business subject to the CASS Rules in circumstances where it held assets on trust but could not locate the beneficiaries entitled to them.
• Re Sova Capital Limited [2023] EWHC 452 (Ch): Nicholas acted for an interested party (the intended purchaser) on applications by the Joint Special Administrators of an insolvent investment brokerage firm focussed on the Russian market for directions pursuant to pursuant to paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 in relation to the sale of a portfolio of shares with an estimated value of approximately £274 million (led by William Buck).
• Regularly acting for directors and officeholders in claims arising from corporate and personal insolvency.
• Acting on numerous disputed bankruptcy and winding-up petitions, statutory demands and related matters, including for HMRC.
• Acting for the Joint Administrators of Greensill Capital (UK) Limited on a number of substantial contentious and investigatory matters arising from its well-publicised collapse (whilst seconded to Allen & Overy LLP).
• Acting for the Plan Companies in the successful restructuring of the Virgin Active Group. This was the first heavily contested use of Restructuring Plans under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 and culminated in an expedited five day sanction hearing before Snowden J ([2021] EWHC 1246 (Ch)) (whilst seconded to Allen & Overy LLP).
• Assisting Lord Briggs (as a Judicial Assistant) in relation to a number of significant insolvency cases in the Supreme Court and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council including BTI v Sequana, a landmark appeal on the nature and scope of the duties owed by the directors of companies approaching insolvency and Equity Trust v Halabi, a significant conjoined appeal from Jersey and Guernsey raising complex issues surrounding trustees’ liens in the context of “insolvent” trusts, including the priority of trustees’ liens inter se
• Successfully obtaining dismissal of a winding-up petition based on a c.£950,000 debt following a disputed debt hearing on the basis that the “Coronavirus Test” under CIGA 2020.

Nicholas has substantial experience of offshore litigation, in particular arising from his time as the Judicial Assistant to Lord Briggs in his capacity as Supervising Justice of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

• Instructed by the Government of Guernsey in respect of a claim under the Forfeiture of Money in Civil Proceedings (Guernsey) Law 2007 in respect of c.$15m held in various bank accounts in Guernsey and alleged to be the proceeds of unlawful conduct (led by Alexander Cook KC).
• Work on reforms to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Rules and Practice Directions (the JCPC equivalent of the CPR) (as Judicial Assistant to Lord Briggs).
• Assisting Lord Briggs (as a Judicial Assistant) in relation to numerous appeals before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
• Advising, with Alexander Cook KC, on potential claims arising from regulatory action taken against a Caribbean bank.
• Assisting Sharif Shivji KC to advise on DIFC claims arising from the termination of a joint venture relationship.
• Assisting Donald Lilly in proceedings in Gibraltar and the UK relating to the insolvent estate of the late Boris Berezovsky, as a pupil.

• Chancery Bar Association
• Commercial Bar Association
• Insolvency Lawyers Association
• Formerly Judicial Assistant to Lord Briggs at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
• Seconded to Allen & Overy LLP February to September 2021
• Appointed to Attorney General’s C Panel of junior counsel to the Crown

BA in History, Trinity College, University of Cambridge (Double First)

MPhil in International Relations and Politics, Peterhouse, University of Cambridge

GDL, City University of London (Distinction)

BPTC, City University of London

Trinity College, Cambridge

Junior Scholarship.

Senior Scholarship, Tripos Prize, Bowen Award, F.W. Maitland Prize for Constitutional Law, Legal History and Constitutional History

Research Scholarship (unable to accept due to change of College), Hyam Scholarship.

University of Cambridge

Newton College Masters Award

Lincoln’s Inn

Lord Bowen Scholarship, Hardwicke Award

Lord Denning Scholarship