Philippa Dempster

Advising on a wide range of commercial contracts including designing ‘plug and play’ agreements for procurement and sales teams.

Training Board directives, executives, sales and complaints handing teams to understand and better use and enforce agreements. In addition advising on how to extricate oneself from contracts.

Her particular sector specialisms include Logistics, Retail & Leisure, Printing, Gaming, Manufacturing, Food, Marketing and PR.

Recent Work

• Advising on a wide variety of contracts including, energy, IT, outsourcing, plant and materials, hire, PR, cleaning, stationery and office supplies, PR and Marketing, print and packaging, Apps, ecommerce, franchise, warehousing and logistics, waste management, gaming equipment and bet in play TV etc
• Contract for the Official Training Camp Headquarters for Team GB in the run up to the Olympics
• Warehousing and Logistics Contract for kitchen retailer – warehouse the size of 5 football pitches (one of the largest deals ever)
• Purchase of all plant and equipment for new state of the art printing factory from international and UK based suppliers
• Outsourcing contract for Major UK bank for financial printing, data management and ancillary services
• Contract for Bet in Play TV

Philippa has 25 years’ experience in resolving disputes through a variety of methods including Mediation, Negotiation, International Arbitration, Expert Determination, Court Proceedings in the UK and Internationally, and in certain areas using Ombudsman or recognised Industry Dispute Resolution bodies.

Strategy always plays a key part in successfully resolving disputes.

Recent Work

• Corporate disputes including Shareholder disputes, Claims against Directors, Misfeasance, Unfair prejudice/fraud
• Warranty claims following acquisition/sale of a business, whether by way of expert determination, arbitration or court proceedings.
  Director’s disqualification claims including obtaining leave for the director to continue to act as a director
• Claims against Managing Directors and Sales Directors/teams joining competitors taking key customers’, customer lists and confidential information, including search and seize orders and injunctions
• Professional negligence claims against contractors and professional advisers following construction of housing developments, e.g. due to subsidence, build issues, ground works, lack of adequate remediation requirements for contaminated land
• Claims against suppliers of goods and services for failure to deliver on time, not to specification or of the right quality/fit for purpose e.g. fire engines and specialist vehicles, IT equipment and point of sale equipment, gaming equipment, garments, hand held terminals for the Congestion Charge, and printed material
• Disputes with carrier companies, logistics suppliers on invoicing irregularities
• Fraud, data theft, bribery, unlawful commissions claims against employees and suppliers
• Successfully defended Eddie Stobart in a claim from a newly established drivers agency claiming that a verbal exclusive contract had been concluded
• Successfully brought a claim by International printer, Polestar UK Print Limited against its customer regarding payment for the printing of the Irish Census
• Successfully defended Eurobet UK Ltd in a claim in the High Court for £650k, made by an on-line Italian gambler. The large win by this gambler was the result of a software ‘bug’. The case, which was widely reported in both the national and international media, made The Telegraph’s Top 10 biggest computer failure cases that year

Risk Management

• Training with account executives and sales teams on the importance of contractual terms and how to use them
• Training to customer services team on how to handle disputes and difficult conversations
• Implementation of Customer Charter and consumer law training to customer services and call centre teams to reduce expenditure on claims
• Board training on contractual terms and compliance areas such as bribery and Modern Slavery Act

Philippa has a varied and complex International and domestic arbitration practice including International Chamber of  Commerce and the London Court of International Arbitration.

She acts on a range of commercial and inter company disputes, often with an international element.

Recent Work

• Acting for UK business which supplied ink to a Mauritian company. The dispute concerned supply and quality issues with the seat of the arbitration being in Greece
• Acting for Irish company in a claim in the energy sector involving a Nigerian Claimant. The seat of the arbitration was London
• Advising an international retail company on their international dispute with an American headquartered business regarding international sales
• Advising on contractual dispute with payment in bitcoin. The seat of the arbitration was London
• Advising UK based business on agency disputes arising in various International countries
• Acting for Maltese gaming business in disputes with various UK domiciles 

25 years’ experience in resolving disputes through a variety of methods including Mediation, Negotiation, International Arbitration, Expert Determination, Court Proceedings in the UK and Internationally and in certain areas using Ombudsman or recognised Industry Dispute Resolution bodies.

Strategy always plays a key part in successfully resolving disputes.

Recent Work

• Dispute for local authority concerning waste disposal site in a disused coalfield. Issues around interpretation, frustration, and risk when legislation changed
• Planning enforcement for local authority, regarding a garage used illegally to house immigrant workers
• Supplier disputes e.g. IT contract disputes; systems not to specification, delayed and implementation issues, miscounting/fraud claims against suppliers falsifying time records
• Exclusion injunctions in favour of council offices and schools under Harassment legislation
• Judicial Review cases, for example, on closures of schools and planning enforcement claims
• Enforcing terms of Section 106 Agreements
• Variety of claims for universities regarding supplier contracts and procurement advice of a variety of services

Philippa is both a poacher and a gamekeeper, as she advises and assists both in the UK and internationally on the establishment or acquisition of franchises, and where relationship’s break down on dispute resolution. Working for both sides on different transactions gives her a unique insight and a deep understanding of the commercial drivers.

Philippa is also experienced in working with large and small businesses to prevent disputes from happening and to minimise liability where disputes do arise.

Recent Work

• Setting up a network of national and international franchises for leading retail, leisure and restaurant businesses, including in Europe, Arab Emirates, Baltics, Asia, America and South America
• Advising franchisees wishing to purchase individual or multiple franchises
• Taking a retail fashion brand international, setting up franchises in Europe, Arab Emirates, Scandinavia, South America, America, Canada.
  Setting up a UK wide franchises for retailers, YoYo noodle, Indian urban street food, gym, child play, children parties
• Advising on termination or enforcement of obligations in franchise agreements and on enforcement of restrictive covenants, stepping in and taking over franchises, enforcement of guarantees etc. Here Philippa has acted on both sides
• Defending franchisees from heavy handed franchisors
• Advising franchisees in groups or as individuals on complaints against franchisors where business has not been as represented or franchisors are not supporting franchisees sufficiently (including group action against a well-known franchisor)
• Speaking at and being on the panel of advisors at BFA franchise conferences
• Advising on leisure franchises including, hotel, restaurants, and gyms
• Acting for BHS on various claims against international franchisees
• Franchise reviews – from dog walking to Burger King
• Acting for an international retailer following a shop fit out against the contractor as the open display fridges were not able to keep to temperature causing loss of sales and damage to product
• Acting for retailer in a claim of fraud against a courier company for deliberately overstating invoices
• Acting for suppliers enforcing ROT claims against Retailers (eg Debenhams Insolvency and BHS)
• Advising on a variety of customer complaints from discrimination, data, breach of contract, food poisoning etc
• Advising on termination of commercial agency and distribution contracts for international fashion and sportswear brands