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.

With less than a week to go until London’s Sky Ride members of our notary office are busy preparing to take part in this wonderful celebrations in London’s calendar.

The London Sky Ride is a fantastic day where members of the public can cycle through a “traffic fee” London.  People wanting to take part in the ride can still register by going to www.goskyride.com. The Skyride is on Sunday 4th September. It is free and open to every member of London’s community who wish to explore the City of London on bike.

London is a key part of the Sky Ride campaign, which is a strategy to get one million people riding a bike by 2013. The event has attracted a great deal of publicity, not least for the active involement of Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and Kelly Brooke as a Sky Ride Ambassador.

Matthew Pryke explains “The London Sky Ride really is a fantastic day out for all the family.  Being able to cycle through London and enjoy this wonderful city from the comfort of your bike is an experience not to be missed.  Members of our Notary offices in London will be supporting this great event and welcome the Mayor of London’s promotion and support for this event and cycling as London’s long term transport solution.”

For further details of the London Sky Ride and the notary services of M D Pryke Notary Public please refer to the website 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.

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 London Guides recently published an article detailing how to become a Notary Public in the UK.  This article stated some of the areas of study along with details of the examination process to become a fully qualified UK Notary Public.

As any Notary Public in London will tell you, once qualified it is still necessary to obtain a yearly practising certificate from the Faculty Office (the regulatory body for Notaries Public) in order to conduct notarial business.  As ever, the rules of the Faculty Office are stringent and each Notary Public is required to submit information on a variety of topics, confirming, amongst other matters, that:

• They act independently from any Law firm
• The Notary holds the minimum amount of indemnity insurance, currently set at £750,000
• The Notary is aware of current money laundering regulations and will run their practice accordingly
• They hold a current practicing certificate as a Solicitor

Once the Faculty office is satisfied that the petitioning Notary meets their criteria, they issue a yearly practicing certificate which currently costs £350.

For further details of how to qualify as a Notary Public, contact Matthew on 02076364422.

The recent Supreme Court ruling in favour of German heiress Katrin Radmacher has significant ramifications for family law in the UK.  The judges upheld a pre-nuptial contract signed in Germany with her French husband, which reduced his divorce settlement by 80%.

Notary Public in London, Matthew Pryke, advises that, while many commentators feel that this effectively introduces pre-nuptial contracts into English law, those who hold shared assets abroad should always consult a Notary Public to ensure that the relevant paperwork is correct.

For example, should a married couple live in London but also own a property in Spain, they should visit a Notary Public in London to ensure that if one of the couple die, the Spanish courts would still observe their will.

London NotaryPublic, Matthew says, ‘It’s always advisable to consult a Notary Public when dealing with any situation where a shared asset is registered in a foreign country.  The rules can be quite complex, but a Notary will be able to advise on the best course of action.’

For further information on notarising documents relating to shared assets in a foreign country, contact Notary Public in London Matthew Pryke, on 0207 6364422, or via the contact form on his website.

On April 6^th 2010 we announced that Notary Public London, Matthew Pryke, had taken part in a charity bike ride from London to Paris for Guts in Motion, the charity that raises money and awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis in childhood.

Thirty two riders took part in the event (not all Notaries Public in London) and MD Pryke Notary Public LLP was delighted to receive an email earlier this week, detailing how the £50,000 raised was put to good use.

The email from the guys at Guts in Motion details how the £50,000 will fund, “research into whether Crohn’s sufferers have a greater amount of fat around the blood vessels that surround the bowel and whether, by reducing the fat content of their diet, they can reduce the effects of this disease.”

The money raised by the Paris to London ride will be put towards the first year of a two year study which will help to tailor crohn’s and colitis treatment and adjust the medication that individual sufferers require.

The second year of study requires a further £60,000 in funding, so your favourite Notary in London will be taking up the cause once more.  As yet, the route is unconfirmed, but at MD Pryke Notary Public LLP we’re hoping that the organisers may increase the distance to a Notary Public London to Brussels expedition, or even further afield.  This is partly to raise the further funds necessary, and partly because we enjoy seeing Matthew suffer!

For further details regarding the excellent work carried our by Guts in Motion, or for details of the forthcoming ride, please contact Notary Public London Matthew Pryke on 0207 6364422, or via the contact page on our website.