NW Publishing UK Ltd v Newsweek Publishing LLC

Facts

The applicant, NW Publishing UK Ltd, provides support and back-end services to digital news publications and, until 2022, formed part of the Newsweek business; its sole director is Mr William Henry Dove. The respondent, Newsweek Publishing LLC, is a New York entity within the Newsweek group. In February 2020 the applicant took a lease of premises for the benefit of the Newsweek business, the respondent having transferred £121,000 to fund the rent deposit; the rent deposit deed recorded that the deposit belonged to the applicant. At the landlord's request the respondent guaranteed the applicant's obligations, and in 2023 paid £180,000 under a settlement agreement with the landlord for outstanding rent and dilapidations. The respondent served a statutory demand on 3 July 2025 for both the rent deposit and the settlement sum. The applicant disputed both, relying on what it called the symbiotic relationship between the group companies, and asked for an undertaking that no petition would be presented. The respondent refused, giving only short time-limited confirmations. Having paid the settlement sum to the landlord on 1 August 2025, the applicant applied without notice on 4 August 2025 and obtained an injunction the following day. A permanent undertaking followed, leaving costs — and the respondent's application to discharge the injunction — for determination.