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Estoppel validates defective security assignment despite wrong assignor: Abraaj Investment Management v Kes Power (EWHC, England and Wales) — implications for 'no assignment' clauses and implied assignment

Published on: 26 January 2026

Published by a LexisNexis Banking & Finance expert
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Abraaj Investment Management Ltd (in liquidation) and other companies v Kes Power Ltd and others [2026] EWHC 65 (Comm) What are the practical implications of this case?

The recent High Court judgment in Abraaj Investment Management v Kes Power closely analyses assignment principles within secured lending. In particular, the court considers when estoppel can aid a lender confronted with defective or uncertain security. The ruling also explores several adjacent issues: the potential for assignments to be implied, whether ‘no assignment’ clauses are tempered by a reasonableness qualification, and matters of consideration in acknowledgements of notice.

While estoppel provided the lender with a solution on the facts, the decision emphatically reinforces a fundamental point: only the entity to which the debt is actually owed should be the assignor. The realities of group operations can obscure the true creditor, meaning it is not always obvious which company holds the right to assign. Practitioners may act on client instructions regarding the identity of the assignor and include in legal opinions a specific assumption that the assignor has legal title. Accordingly, confirming that the correct entity is effecting the assignment needs to be a...

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