Judgment of Sir Jonathan Cohen in JV v MV [2025] EWFC 234 was published last week following a final hearing in July.

James Ewins KC, leading Janine McGuigan, instructed by Stewarts, achieved a deferred sale of the family company, in which the parties hold a combined 70% stake, pending a voluntary HMRC investigation.

A sale may be avoided altogether in the event that the husband opts to pay the wife a discounted lump sum to buy out her interest, which would result in a departure from equality in the husband’s favour. The wife’s proposals to receive an interim lump sum and a fixed lump sum in the event of a sale were rejected, the court favouring the husband’s position that the parties’ shareholdings were to be equalised such that they would receive an equal distribution of any sale proceeds net of the tax liability for which they were also equally liable.

Full details of the case can be found under cases: https://www.qeb.co.uk/resources/jv-v-mv-2025-ewfc-234/