Please Can I Have Your Autograph Mr Ramsay!

You might have seen some of the recent media coverage of Gordon Ramsay's court case relating to a personal guarantee given to his landlord that was signed using an "automated pen" operated by his estranged business partner and father in law. A significant sum was at stake given the personal guarantee guaranteed the tenant's obligations to the tune of £640,000 per year for 25 years and some issues arose that will matter outside the celebrity world.

Gordon Ramsay was seeking a declaration from the Court that the automated signature was added to the document without his consent or authority and was therefore invalid. As property lawyers we are surprised that a machine signature not operated by the individual was sufficient to bind that individual to a deed but, on the facts, it was!