Personal Guarantees v Consumer Law

In the case of Eternity Sky Investments Ltd v Xiaomin Zhang [2024] EWCACiv 630, the English Court of Appeal dismissed an attempt to set aside a Hong Kong arbitration award on the grounds of public policy. The argument was that upholding the award would be contrary to the public policy and a disregard of the UK consumer rights. The Court of Appeal rejected the position of the first instance court and determined that the relevant consumer protection provisions did not apply because the applicant was not considered a consumer.

The Background

The case arose from a dispute over the enforcement of a personal guarantee signed by Mrs. Xiaomin Zhang. Mrs. Zhang had provided a personal guarantee to Eternity Sky Investments Ltd ("Eternity Sky")as part of a financial arrangement involving her husband's company, Chong SingFin Tech Holdings Group Limited ("Chong Sing") - a Cayman Island entity listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Eternity Sky Investments had subscribed