William Angas > Cripps > West Sussex, England > Lawyer Profile
Cripps Offices
Premier House
36-48 Queen Street
Horsham
RH13 5AD
England
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William Angas
Work Department
Dispute Resolution, Insolvency & Corporate Recovery
Position
Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution, Co-Head of Insolvency and Corporate Restructuring
Career
William is a partner, head of the Dispute Resolution department and co-head of the Insolvency & Restructuring department.
As may be seen from the cases referred to below, William has a wide-ranging practice in commercial disputes and contentious insolvency developed over 15 years.
William has also developed a niche specialism in assisting clients in the factoring, invoice finance and Asset Based Lending sector recover losses under finance agreements. This often includes pursuing orders to freeze assets and enforcing guarantees, indemnities and legal charges.
William deals with all contentious corporate and personal insolvency matters, assisting office holders pursue claims against directors and shareholders of insolvent companies, or individuals. William has developed a particular specialism (supported by several recent reported authorities) in recovering unlawful dividends and/or unauthorised remuneration from shareholders and/or directors. In addition, William advises on antecedent claims including transactions at undervalue, preferences, misfeasance claims, possession proceedings and disputes concerning beneficial interests in residential property.
Key Recent Work Highlights:
- Acted for liquidator with successful breach of contract claim against major high street retailer
- Obtained summary judgment in High Court for invoice financier when a certificate of indebtedness was found to be conclusive as to the Defendant’s liability and quantum
- Acted for administrators of Toys R Us to recover large, disputed balances owed by international trade vendors
- Obtained judgment for liquidators in the High Court (upheld in the Court of Appeal) that remuneration and dividends received were unlawful and repayable
- Negotiated settlement terms for liquidator challenging fees debited under a US invoice finance agreement as unlawful
- Recovered for liquidator preferential payments of c£500,000 from directors, shareholders and associates
- Acting for Trustees to sell bankrupts’ properties, challenging declarations of trust and claims to beneficial interest
- Defending trustee’s decision regarding adjudication on proofs of debt
Reported Cases
- Richard Toone & Kevin Murphy v Dean Robbins & Richard Robbins [2018] BCC 728
- Catalyst Business Finance Limited v Very Tangy Television Limited, Richard Tuckwell & Very Tangy Media Limited [2018] EWCH 1669 (QB)
- Steve Domsalla (trading as Domsalla Building Services) v Kenneth Dyason [2007] EWHC 1174 (TCC)”
Lawyer Rankings
South East > Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Kent, Surrey and Sussex
The ‘skilled and practical’ team at Cripps in Tunbridge Wells handles complex disputes for UK and international clients, companies and business individuals across several sectors including the advertising and media, technology, food and drink, and property industries. Recent work has involved litigation related to commercial contracts, insolvency and restructuring matters, professional negligence claims and post-transactional disputes. Heading up the team is Philip Youdan and the ‘fantastic, efficient, sensible and wise’ Ed Weeks, who is well-known for his expertise in shareholders’ disputes and directors’ duties issues. ‘Go-to lawyer’ Joanna Ford has a specialism in handling restructuring and insolvency matters as well as shareholder disputes concerning IT and technology contracts. Also of note is Tom Bourne, who has a particular interest in the food and drinks sector, with experience in commercial and post-transactional disputes. Hannah Proctor is well versed in misfeasance claims and breach of contract disputes, praised as a ‘successful litigator’. In early 2024, the firm merged with Horsham-based firm PDT Solicitors, which added the expertise of William Angas, Ben Ashworth and Justin McConville to the practice.
South East > Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
In Tunbridge Wells, Cripps houses a ‘highly technical‘ team, which regularly assists clients with pre-insolvency matters in addition to pre-sale restructurings, solvent schemes of arrangements, and voluntary arrangements of companies. The practice advises a diverse client roster, which includes waste management, fintech, and manufacturing companies. Praised for her ‘attention to detail‘, Joanna Ford leads the team, often acting in claims of misfeasance and wrongful trading against directors, in addition to assisting companies in financial difficulty. With ‘considerable experience and knowledge‘, John Kirkwood focuses on the corporate elements of the insolvency process, and has a great deal of knowledge surrounding the selling and acquisition of insolvent businesses, while senior associate Hannah Proctor primarily focuses on contentious insolvency matters, often appearing before the High Court. In early 2024, the firm merged with Horsham-based firm PDT Solicitors, which added the expertise of William Angas, Dawn Shadwell, Ian Lindley and Craig Burton.
South East > Dispute resolution > Debt recovery
Recommended by clients for its ‘positive and exceptional service’, Cripps‘ debt recovery team in Horsham is led by legal manager Gina Hope, and is overseen by William Angas, who leads the wider commercial litigation department. Angas is especially experienced in advising clients from the factoring, invoice finance and asset-based lending arenas.
Lawyer Rankings
- Commercial litigation: Kent, Surrey and Sussex South East > Dispute resolution
- Insolvency and corporate recovery South East > Finance
- Debt recovery South East > Dispute resolution
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- Real estate > Commercial property: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Real estate > Construction
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Employment > Employment: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Real estate > Environment and planning
- Private client > Family: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Kent, Surrey, Sussex
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Public sector > Public sector