A Bhaur and others v Equity First Trustees (Nevis) Ltd and others

In A Bhaur and others v Equity First Trustees (Nevis) Ltd and others [2023] EWCA Civ 534 (18 May 2023) the Court of Appeal (CA) dismissed an appeal against the decision of the HC not to side aside the transfer of shares to an employee benefit trust on the grounds of mistake. The circumstances involved an inheritance tax scheme the failure of which potentially left the claimants with large tax liabilities and no assets with which to meet them. 

The claimants a married couple who owned a substantial property business entered into a scheme under which the business was transferred to an employee benefit trust. The intention was that the couple’s sons would be able to benefit from the trust after the couple’s deaths free of inheritance tax. The scheme involved the incorporation of the business to a company owned by the couple (SIUK) followed by...