Mohammed Sarwar & Ors v Bilal Sarwar & Anor

Facts

Mohammed Sarwar and his wife Robina Kausar built up the Cambridge Hotel in Huddersfield, run through Cambridge Hotel and Lodge Limited, and later expanded the family's interests, acquiring the Ibis Hotel in Bradford through a subsidiary, Bradford PCH Limited. Of their three children, the elder son Shakeel had been kept from the business by a long-standing drug addiction and the daughter Shahelah had stepped back after marrying in 2006 and taking on her own guest house from 2010; the younger son Bilal had worked in the family business virtually uninterrupted since leaving school. In December 2022 Shahelah transferred her 25% shareholding to Bilal's wife Ainy. Bilal pressed his parents for a formal division of the business, and he said this was agreed with his father on 11 August 2025 and given effect by a Share Swap Agreement, a J30 stock transfer form and board minutes, under which he took the Company and his parents took PCH. Within days his parents disowned the agreement, and in October 2025 they and Shahelah petitioned for relief under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006, alleging that Bilal had misappropriated their shares and excluded them from management. Bilal counterclaimed for declaratory relief.