GOWLINGS SOLICITORS LIMITED

Decision - Sanction

Outcome: Rebuke

Outcome date: 15 June 2026

Published date: 20 July 2026

Firm details

No detail provided:

Outcome details

This outcome was reached by SRA decision.

Decision details

Who does this disciplinary decision relate to?

Gowlings Solicitors Limited (the firm) is a recognised body authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The firm is based at Derby House, Lytham Road, Fulwood, Preston PR2 8JE.

Short summary of decision

We have issued the firm with a rebuke for its failure to comply with an undertaking within the agreed timescale in the context of acting for a seller in a conveyancing transaction.

Facts of the misconduct

It was found that whilst acting for a seller in a conveyancing transaction, the firm provided an undertaking to the buyer's solicitors to redeem the mortgage attached to the property on or prior to completion. The firm did not obtain or verify a redemption statement before agreeing to the undertaking. The firm were found to be reckless in agreeing to the undertaking without checking the redemption figure. The sale proceeds were insufficient to discharge the mortgage in full, and the sellers did not have the additional funds to meet the balanceIt was found that the firm failed to perform an undertaking within the agreed timescaleof 18 February 2025. The firm took steps to rectify the position including making payment of the shortfall from its own office account. The mortgage was redeemed in part on 20 April 2025 from the sale proceeds, and the balance transferred to the lender from the firm's office account on 10 June 2025. Despite eventually remedying the breach, the firm did not comply with the undertaking as required. In doing so it breached Paragraph 1.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms 2019.

Decision on sanction

It was decided that a rebuke was an appropriate and proportionate sanction.

The firm was issued with a written rebuke and ordered to pay costs of £600.

This was because the firm's conduct was serious by reference to the following factors in the SRA Enforcement Strategy:

• Undertakings are a fundamental aspect of legal practice and reliance is placed upon them by third parties. Failure to comply undermines trust in such arrangements.
• The firm had direct responsibility for compliance with the undertaking and failed to meet that obligation within the agreed timescale.
• The breach required remediation, including the firm making payment from its own funds to rectify the position.
• The firm has a previous regulatory finding relating to a failure to comply with undertakings which, despite the passage of time, remains relevant.
• A public sanction is required to uphold standards and maintain confidence in the regulatory framework.

A more serious sanction was not considered to be proportionate by reference to the following factors in the Enforcement Strategy:

• The firm took steps to remedy the breach and mitigate the impact on the buyer.
• There is no evidence of dishonesty or that the conduct was deliberate.
• There is no evidence of significant or lasting harm to clients or third parties.
• The misconduct, while serious, is capable of being addressed by a rebuke as a sanction of moderate seriousness.

SRA Code of Conduct for Firms 2019 breached

Paragraph 1.3: You perform all undertakings given by you within an agreed timescale or if no timescale has been agreed then within a reasonable amount of time