The recent decision of the High Court in Gleeds is an
example of the serious consequences of the failure to follow the
correct formalities for the execution deeds.
The scheme employer in this case was a partnership. Since 1
August 1990, the law has required that in order for a
partnership to validly execute a deed, each partner's signature
must be witnessed. In the period from 1990 to 2012 the Gleeds
partners signed a whole series of deeds without
their signatures being witnessed. The High Court has found
that none of the deeds were validly executed and are therefore
ineffective. According to the judge, this could cost the scheme
£45m.
The scheme started out in 1974 as a defined benefit scheme
which did not require any contribution from the members. The
various documents which have now been found to be invalid
include a Barber equalisation deed, deeds establishing
money purchase sections, deeds introducing member contributions
and a deed stopping future accrual
