Interest Rate Swaps: Barnett Waddington Trustees (1980) Ltd v The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc [2015] EWHC 2435 (Ch)

Warren J has handed down his judgment in Barnett Waddington Trustees (1980) Ltd v The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc [2015] EWHC 2435 (Ch). This is an important case concerning the liability of a borrower to indemnify a lender against certain ‘losses’ said to have been suffered by the lender as a result of an internal hedging arrangement.  In this case, the borrower wished to redeem a loan. However, the lender insisted that, as a condition of such redemption, the borrower had to pay an ‘interest rate swap termination cost’ of c.£2.4m. At trial, Warren J determined that no such sum was payable.

Mark Warwick QC, leading Justina Stewart, appeared for the successful borrower.