Many notary clients of the London practice of M D Pryke Notary Public will be familiar with Matthew Pryke as both a Notary Public and also a solicitor.  Matthew Pryke has also recently been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Fine & Country.  Matthew will commence his role as Chief Executive Officer on 10 October 2011 based from Fine & Country’s Park Lane offices in London, UK.

Fine & Country is a luxury estate brand which sell and market properties in the upper quartile of the estate agency market both in the UK and globally.  Fine & Country differentiate themselves by their innovative lifestyle marketing and by representing properties of bespoke character and individual distinction.  Fine & Country currently has more than 200 offices in the UK and more than 300 offices globally in countries such as Portugal, Cyprus, Guernsey, Jersey, Madeira, Malta, Mauritius, Dubai, Numbi, Qatar, South Africa and West Africa.  The most recent expansion has seen Fine & Country also begin operations within the USA.

Matthew Pryke, owner of M D Pryke Notary Public LLP says “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as CEO of Fine & Country.  Fine & Country is both a market leader and innovator within this estate agency sector.  The success of this business over the last 10 years provides a wonderful platform for me to continue to grow this business both within the UK and globally”

The Notary Public practice of M D Pryke Notary Public LLP will be unaffected by this appointment and has recently announced that it will be relocating its offices to 119-121 Park Lane, London, UK.

For further information about the business of Fine & Country please refer to the website www.fineandcountry.com.  For further details of Matthew Pryke’s Notary Public practice please refer to the website at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

After 5 successful years at Portland Place, London, on Monday 10^th October 2011 London Notary Public Practice M D Pryke will open a notary public office at 119-121 Park Lane, W1K 7AG.  The notarial services provided by this London notary will continue to provide a full legalisation and notary service.

The business is moving from its current location at Portland Place to a more prominent position in W1 and has chosen an iconic Park Lane address.  The Notary Publics London new office address will be 119-121 Park Lane, London W1K 7AG.  The relocation of this notary public practice will provide further accessibility to notary services both to individuals and businesses in the West End and also to clients in SW1, Victoria, Marble Arch and other surrounding locations in the City of Westminster.

Matthew Pryke, owner of M D Pryke Notary Public LLP commented “This is a very exciting step in the growth and expansion of our notary practice.  We have been located in Portland Place for the last five years.  The practice has continued to grow and it has become clear that the business and it’s clients would benefit from being located in this iconic part of London.  The offices in Park Lane are both accessible and luxurious.  The whole team are very much looking forward to moving to the new notary offices in October.”

The notary practice will continue to operate from its London office at One Portland Place until 30 September 2011.  For more information about this notary public practice and the notarisation and legalisation services offered please refer to the website at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

It is often the case that documents, once notarised, require a Notary to also legalise the document.  The legalisation requirements for each country are different.  However the most usual request received by a Notary Public is to have the document “apostilled”.  To add an Apostille, or legalisation certificate, to a document involves liaising directly with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.  Recently the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has implemented a number of material changes to both the legalisation fees and the legalisation process.  This article summarises the key considerations for notary clients.

FCO legalisation fees increase

From 6 April 2011 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office increased the legalisation charges to:

£30.00 per document for its standard service (via its legalisation office in Milton Keynes).

£75.00 per document for its express service (via its London legalisation office at Centre Point).

These legalisation fee increases are a material consideration for all clients.  London notaries advise clients to plan in advance, if possible, legalisation requirements as this can often allow clients to achieve a saving.  For example a Notary can use the Foreign and Commonwealth Office standard service which generates a £45 saving per notarised document.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office legalisation public counter closed

From 1 April 2011 members of the general public have been unable to attend the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices in Milton Keynes.  Members of the public are required to use a postal service.  This means urgent matters cannot be hand delivered.  As legalisation agents, M D Pryke Notary Public LLP, is able to obtain legalisation on behalf of our clients via the Milton Keynes office or Centre Point in London within the same working day.

M D Pryke Notary Public comments, “The changes introduced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are not entirely unexpected, given the pressure on government departments and their budgets.  We suggest you liaise with your notary public London at the first opportunity so the Notary can plan the budget and timetable to meet your commercial requirements.  As a full service London Notary Public practice we are able to notarise and legalised documents for every country globally.  We are always happy to provide detailed fee quotes and timetables which allow our clients to plan with certainty for every notarial and legalisation matter.”

For further details of the legalisation and notarial services offered by London Notary Public practice M D Pryke Notary Public LLP please refer to the website at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

On 24 May 2011 the European Court of Justice held that it was not lawful to restrict work undertaken by a Notary Public in an EU country to the notaries qualified from that country.  The decision removes the nationality restriction which had been in place for more than 50 years.

The implication of this decision for the notary industry is that this opens the European market in a manner which reflects one of the core principals of the European Union, namely free movement of workers.  The decision should be viewed as good news for notary clients as it suggests that in the medium to long term the profession will undergo a revolution which will see Notary Publics of different nationalities competing for business to the benefit of notary clients.  Whilst it would be unrealistic to expect that this will have an immediate impact on the market it does mean that notary practices may now target both markets and work which previously would have been restricted to them.

Matthew Pryke commenting on the decision explained, “The decision of the European Court of Justice is both correct and overdue.  There are a number of notaries within the UK who have been arguing for some time for this decision and therefore represents a positive culmination of their efforts.  In particular I believe London Notary Public Mark Kober-Smith deserves particular mention for the active interest, instigation and promotion of this matter which he has undertaken.”

Matthew Pryke’s Notary Public London practice will continue to maintain an active role in the promotion and development of the Notaries profession throughout Europe from its offices in London’s West End.  For further details regarding this decision and also the manner in which notary publics are able to operate within the UK please refer to the website at www.mdpryke-notary.com.

Notary London firm, MD Pryke Notary Public LLP would like to pass on details of the Christmas and New Year opening hours for the Legalisation offices in Milton Keynes and Central London.

The Foreign and Commonwealth office advise that both Legalisation offices will operate as usual, up to and including Thursday 23 December 2010.

Milton Keynes – Norfolk House:

24 December: 09.30 to 14.00

27 December: Closed

28 December: Closed

29 December: Closed

30 December: 09.30 to 15.30

31 December: 09.30 to 14.00

03 December: Closed

04 December: 09.30 to 15.30

We are further advised that every Notary in London with documents to legalise on behalf of their clients must submit these documents by 15.00 on Thursday 23 December, in order that they can be legalised by Christmas.

Any Notary in London that wishes to have documents legalised before New Year must submit them prior to 15.00 on 30 December.

A Notary in London who wishes to legalise business documents on behalf of their clients must, as ever, submit them to the Centre Point offices in London.

The opening hours for the Centre point offices are as follows:

24 December: 09.00 to 14.00

27 December: Closed

28 December: Closed

29 December: Closed

30 December: 09.00 to 15.30

31 December: 09.00 to 14.00

03 December: Closed

04 December: 09.00 to 15.30

Notaries in London wishing to work around the FCO’s holiday hours are advised that on Christmas Eve they will accept documents received in the morning postal delivery and collect and return those taken in on 23 December.

For further information on the Notary information displayed here, please contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office directly, or MD Pryke Notary Public LLP on 0207 636 4422.

Free deed poll name change is a term commonly typed into Internet search engines. Sadly however, many sites that profess to offer a free Deed Poll download subsequently charge for the service once you examine the small print on their websites.

At MD Pryke Notary Public LLP members of the public often contact us to enquire whether our free deed poll service is genuinely available at no charge and whether they have to be in the London area in order to take advantage of our offer.

To clarify our position we can categorically state that our Deed Poll document is provided completely free of charge to the public.  There’s no catch to worry about, just a genuinely gratis deed poll name change document for UK citizens, which is available free to download and is totally legally binding.

Simply download the name change document at http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2010/08/changing-name-by-deed-poll and fill it in using the easily understood directions.

As discussed in a response to a client’s questions which can be viewed at http://www.mdpryke-notary.com/2010/09/deed-poll-name-change-storm-on-x-factor it is essential that you follow the steps as described and that you sign the deed poll in front of a witness.

A Notary Public or solicitor is not required, but it must be witnessed by a third party in order that your free name change by deed poll process becomes legally binding and recongnised in any court in England and Wales.

For further details on our free deed poll service please contact MD Pryke Notary Public LLP on 0207 636 4422, or through the usual channels.

Notary Public London Guides usually focus on complex topics such as: power of attorney, the legalisation process, apostilles, or changing a name by Deed Poll.  Our aim is to break down a complex process or piece of legislation into easily understood sections, providing our readers with a broad overview upon which to make an informed decision.

MD Pryke Notary Public LLP, was recently approached by a US citizen visiting the UK, enquiring whether we offered a London mobile notary service, who then requested we meet him in Manchester.  Unfortunately, we were not able to fulfil his request but as mobile notary service is a term commonly typed into search engines, we thought that it may be useful to explore what distance a member of the public can expect a Notary Public in London to travel in order to meet clients.

As discussed in previous Notary Public London Guides, MD Pryke Notary Public LLP is based in the City of Westminster, and we will travel to our clients’ homes or business addresses in Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden, Islington, Wandsworth, Lambeth and Southwark.

London is such a densely populated city that any reputable London Notary will most likely offer a mobile service in order to process a notarial matter.  Notary fees vary widely however so please remember that an additional cost may be incurred if a client requests a mobile notary service.

For further details on Notary fees or any of the issues covered in this guide, please contact MD Pryke Notary Public LLP on 0207 636 4422.

Notary Public in London business, MD Pryke Notary Public LLP, is proud to announce that this week they received their 1000^th new client.  Notary practice director Matthew Pryke was delighted at passing such a significant milestone.

‘London presents a very competitive market in which to operate a Notary Public service’, says Matthew.  ‘It is vital that as a business focused Notary practice based in central London, we match the pace and intensity of the corporate clients we serve.

‘Of course, a London Notary Practice such as ours thrives on repeat business from clients who value our level of service, our competitive pricing structure and our forensic attention to detail on every transaction.  To pass the 1000 mark for new clients remains a significant achievement however, and it reflects the intelligence and hard work of the MD Pryke Notary Public LLP team who go to such great lengths to ensure that every notarial transaction is completed swiftly and efficiently, and with the absolute minimum of fuss.

‘Whether my staff are advising clients on legalisation matters, apostille work, power of attorney issues or our free deed poll service; their diligence and common sense approach is unparalleled.’

For further details of how this Notary London practice can service your Notarial requirements, please contact us on 0207 6364422, or via our website.

Notary Public in London Guides, recently published two articles on money laundering regulations.  The first article described the process whereby criminals re-introduce the proceeds of their crime back into the fiscal system, the second Notary Public London Guide laid out an overview of the 2002 Proceeds of Crime Act and how it affects Notaries Public.

In this second article we advised fellow notaries in London and across England and Wales to contact the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) should they have suspicions regarding the integrity of any notarial transaction.

The feedback we received from fellow Notaries Public in London was that many Notaries are unsure of the correct procedure for contacting SOCA.

A Notary should contact SOCA the very moment they suspect a transaction may be unlawful and it is strongly advised that a suspicious Notary should make a report via the SOCA website at www.soca.gov.uk .  In urgent cases a Notary may contact them by telephone or fax but we are advised that a duty officer may not be trained to give legal advice.

SOCA contact details are:

Telephone – 020 7238 8282
Fax – 020 7238 8286

If SOCA are alerted prior to a Notarial transaction taking place, the Notary is not permitted to act unless they have not had a response from SOCA in 8 working days.  After this period consent can be assumed and the transaction may proceed.

If SOCA contact the Notary in question within this 8 day timeframe then the transaction may not be completed for a further 31 days.

For further information please contact MD Pryke Notary Public LLP.

This Notary Public London Guide is the second article in a series about money laundering.  The first article dealt with the various stages of the financial process whereby criminals reintroduce the proceeds of their crime back into the monetary system.

This Notary Public London Guide tackles some aspects of the ‘Proceeds of Crime Act’ of 2002 and the implications for Notaries Public in England and Wales.

The act established three principle areas of money laundering, namely:

• Arrangements
• Acquisition
• Concealing

Any Notary Public in London (or elsewhere) must disclose any suspicions to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as soon as these concerns become apparent. Furthermore, the transaction will not be able to proceed until SOCA has given its consent.

A Notary Public must be aware that under the terms of the 2002 Act mentioned previously, the law applies to the passive possession of criminally acquired property and proceeds, and there are rather draconian measures awaiting those who fail to comply with the current regulations.

A Notary in breach of one of the principle offences mentioned above, risks a maximum punishment of a 14 year prison sentence and a large fine.  Any Public Notary who commits a ‘failure to disclose’ offence, or is found guilty either of ‘tipping off’ a criminal or behaving in a manner that might be construed as obstructing an investigation, faces a maximum jail term of 5 years and the possibility of a fine.

As ever, this Notary Public in London guide is intended to be a broad overview of an extremely complex piece of legislation.  Should you have any concerns about money laundering, MD Pryke Notary Public LLP strongly advise you to contact the Serious Organised Crime Agency.