Lauded by clients as a ‘leading set in the art and cultural property sector at all levels,’ 3 Verulam Buildings regularly handles high-profile cases involving art dealers, auctioneers, museums and national galleries. Angharad Start acts for Elanus Holdings in Qatar Investment & Projects Development Holding CP W.L.L. v Elanus Holdings Ltd, a Commercial Court dispute over ownership of the Idol’s Eye diamond, raising complex issues of pre-emption rights and cross-border corporate control. Also acting in the case are Victor Steinmetz, Calum Mulderrig, Andrew Onslow KC and Clarissa Jones. Cleon Catsambis acts as sole counsel for Sotheby’s in a high-profile Commercial Court case over the Idol’s Eye diamond, facing a non-party disclosure application. Start, leading Steinmetz, acts for US-based lender Art Lending Inc in Ashti Fine Art Ltd v Art Lending Inc & Ors, a multi-jurisdictional dispute over ownership of a Francis Bacon painting and recovery of over $80m in loans secured against high-value artworks.
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Andrew Onslow KC specialises in commercial litigation, banking and financial services, fraud, professional negligence and arbitration. He was leading Counsel for claimants in the multibillion pound claim against RBS, Fred Goodwin and others arising from RBS’s 2008 £12bn Rights Issue. He acted for the Defendants in ENRC v Gerrard & Dechert LLP (Judgment May 2022: [2022]EWHC 1138 (Comm)); in SKAT v Solo Capital Partners (acting for lead defendants in US$2bn claim by Danish tax authorities, alleging cum-ex dividend fraud); and in a claim for hundreds of millions of pounds against Clydesdale Bank and its parent company, National Australia Bank. He has also been involved in a number of FSMA s.90A claims; successful at trial and on appeal in Byers v Saudi National Bank (formerly Samba Financial Group), and in two appeals to the Court of Appeal (Libyan Investment Authority v King (acting for LIA) in claim for fraud in relation to Maple Cross hotel development, and Strategic Technology Pts Ltd v Procurement Bureau of the Republic of China (acting for the appellant Taiwan), now the leading case on enforcement of a foreign judgment under Administration of Justice Act 1920). He was Counsel for the SFO in civil/commercial aspects of R v Barclays (2008 capital raising), R v Hayes (LIBOR), R v Bittar (EURIBOR).
Andrew is also renowned for art disputes, appearing for the auction house in two of the leading cases this century (Thomson v Christie’s (trial and appeal 2004 and 2005); Thwaytes v Sotheby’s (trial 2014, judgment 2015).
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Testimonials
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- 'The clerks at 3 Verulam Buildings are first rate. Stuart Pullum is the best in the business; he is attentive, responsive, extremely personable and able to deal with more difficult situations with sensitivity.'
- 'The clerks provide an impeccable service.'
- '3 Verulam Buildings is a top-quality set.'
- '3 Verulam Buildings is a leading set in the art and cultural property sector at all levels.'