When do contractual rights and expectations amount to A1P1 possessions? When does goodwill qualify for A1P1 Protection? These were the linked substantive issues in SOLARIA ENERGY UK v DBEIS (2019) EWHC 2188 (TCC).
Not all contractual rights amount to property or to an A1P1 possession: para 53. In order to do so they must have the attributes of an asset : para 59. They must have a monetary value which can be marketed for consideration : para 52.
Even where the valuation of business goodwill does reflect an element of book debts which are anticipated ( but not yet crystallised ) the valuation of a future income stream does not qualify as an A1P1 possession : para 44. In order to qualify for A1P1 Protection the goodwill of the business must be marketable : para 45. Goodwill will be an A1P1 possession only if the profession, trade or business to which it has been attached has been organised in a way that enables the Court to identify an element of goodwill which has been attributed a monetary value separate from that of the tangible assets of the business and which value is, at least in principle, capable of being realised on sale, assignment or other dealing : para 49. The most obvious way of establishing this would be to identify the relevant value in the accounts of the business : ibid.
The Judge also rejected the claim as being out of time under HRA s 7(5).