Robin Kingham

Robin has in-depth knowledge of consumer credit law. He is ranked as a leading practitioner in Consumer Finance by Chambers & Partners and in Banking & Finance (including Consumer Credit) by The Legal 500.

Robin has expertise in retail lending requirements and compliance with the technical requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, its subordinate regulations, and CONC. He represents retail lenders and high street banks in consumer credit cases across England & Wales on an essentially constant basis.

In 2020, he appeared in the landmark month-long payday lending test case of Kerrigan v Elevate Credit International Ltd T/A Sunny [2020] EWHC 2169 (Comm) (led by Ruth Bala). The case remains one of the leading authorities on the unfair relationship regime under ss.140A-C of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Robin is the co-editor (together with Fred Philpott) of Consumer Credit, Atkin’s Court Forms, Vol 11(2) (2023). He and Fred also jointly edit Consumer Credit, The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents, Vol 12(1)A (2023). Robin is also the author of the chapter on the Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC) in the Practitioner’s Guide to the UK’s Financial Services Rulebooks.

Robin is ranked as a leading practitioner in Consumer Law by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. In 2023, he was shortlisted for the Legal 500 Group Litigation and Consumer Junior of the Year Award.

Robin undertakes both civil and criminal work in this area. He has particular experience of:

• Advertising regulation
• Asset forfeiture
• Civil enforcement under the Enterprise Act 2002
• Consumer protection offences
• Consumer rights
• Fraudulent trading
• Money laundering offences
• Product safety
• Trade marks offences
• Trading standards prosecutions
• Unfair commercial practices
• Unfair terms in consumer contracts

Robin is a contributing editor of Consumer and Trading Standards: Law and Practice, 4th-12th editions (“the Pink Book”), former author of the criminal law chapter in Miller: Product Liability and Safety Encyclopaedia, and former editor of the Consumer and Trading Law Cases law reports (2015 – 2018). He has delivered seminars on related subjects, including to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Office of Product Safety and Standards, and is a regular contributor to Gough Square Live.

Twice seconded to the Financial Conduct Authority, Robin undertakes the full scope of advisory, drafting, and court work in this area. Robin regularly advises and acts for firms and individuals in their dealings with the FCA relating to enforcement, supervision, and authorisation issues. He is ranked as a leading practitioner in Financial Services Regulation by The Legal 500.

Robin has significant advocacy experience in this area, appearing as sole counsel on behalf of firms in contested matters before the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) and the Upper Tribunal.

Robin is one of the two general editors of The Encyclopedia of Financial Services Law (Sweet & Maxwell), one of the two authors of Financial Services Litigation (Oxford University Press), a contributing author to A Practitioner’s Guide to the UK Financial Services Rulebooks (Sweet & Maxwell), and author of a number of published articles on related topics.

Robin is ranked as one of the few leading practitioners in Life Sciences Regulation by Chambers & Partners. He has particular experience of advising food and drugs businesses facing regulatory investigation or criminal proceedings.

His criminal practice includes both prosecuting and defending life sciences businesses in regulatory cases, as well as advising on novel products (e.g. novel foods, novel psychoactive substances, borderline medicinal products, and traditional herbal medicinal products). He has been involved in a number of recent cases involving the regulation of Cannabidiol (CBD) products.

Robin’s civil life sciences practice includes strategic and perimeter advice for businesses and regulators, as well as judicial review of decisions taken by regulators.

Gough Square Live, Ep30: How to comply with time limits in trading standards cases

April 4, 2023

Training day

May 3, 2023

Gough Square Live, Ep 31: Digital disclosure

May 9, 2023

Gough Square Chambers Shortlisted for 6 Group Litigation and Consumer awards at The Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023

July 13, 2023

Gough Square Chambers retains No 1 spot in Consumer Law and gains 7 new rankings in The Legal 500

October 10, 2023

Chambers & Partners ranks Gough Square as Number 1 for Consumer Law

November 3, 2023

Tribunal Judgment on “Raw” Honey

March 1, 2024

Medical Cannabis & Cannabinoid Regulation 2024

June 13, 2024

Gough Square top-ranked by Chambers & Partners 2025

October 18, 2024

• National Trading Standards v Grigg & ors (Leeds Crown Court) (2024): successful NTS prosecution of five company directors charged with entering into an international money laundering arrangement to disperse the proceeds of a £1.2m consumer scam. All five defendants were convicted following a four-week trial (press coverage here) (led by Jonathan Goulding);
• Odysea Ltd v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2024] UKFTT 157 (GRC): successfully represented a food retailer in what is believed to be the first UK case considering use of the term “raw honey”. The judgment disapproved national guidance issued by the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO) (press coverage here and here) (sole counsel);
• National Trading Standards v Chique Makeovers & Photography Ltd, Earnshaw, and Crainer (Hull Crown Court) (2022): successful NTS prosecution of a company and two directors for offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The case involved 48 complainant witnesses and a reasonably complex financial investigation (press coverage here) (sole counsel);
• R (Healthspan Ltd) v Food Standards Authority (High Court, Admin) (2022): judicial review of the FSA’s regulatory amnesty concerning Cannabidiol (CBD) products. This was the first such policy implemented by the FSA since the transfer of responsibility for novel foods regulation from EFSA and the European Commission following Brexit (led by Jonathan Kirk KC);
• Joanne Properties Ltd v Moneything Capital Ltd & anr [2020] EWCA Civ 1541: successfully represented the appellant in the Court of Appeal in a case involving a disputed settlement agreement arising out of a corporate financing arrangement (sole counsel);
• Kerrigan & ors v Elevate Credit International Ltd T/A Sunny [2020] EWHC 2169 (Comm): acted for the defendant in this landmark month-long payday lending test case (led by Ruth Bala);
• SRA v Junius Ho (2020) SDT 12115: successfully defended a prominent Hong Kong politician accused of inciting violence at a public rally (sole counsel);
• Financial Conduct Authority v a Firm (RDC / UT) (2020): represented a firm facing imposition of an OIREQ in oral representations before the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee and on reference to the Upper Tribunal (sole counsel);
• Notting Hill Finance Ltd v Sheikh [2019] 4 W.L.R. 146; [2019] EWCA Civ 1337: represented the respondent in a procedural appeal arising out of a commercial bridging loan. The Court of Appeal’s judgment resulted in substantive amendment to the relevant White Book commentary (sole counsel);
• R (City of York) v Kingstown Associates Ltd (York Crown Court / York & Selby Magistrates Court) (2020): prosecution on behalf of the National Trading Standards e-Crime Team (hosted by the City of York) of a company for two charges of engaging in unfair commercial practices banned under Schedule 1 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Conviction on both charges following trial resulted in a £150,000 fine plus prosecution costs (upheld on appeal) (press coverage here) (sole counsel);
• Choi v Park & Park [2019] EWHC 3191 (QB): civil fraud and conspiracy claim arising out of a commercial property sale. Successfully represented the claimant at trial in the QBD (sole counsel);
• AB Ltd v CD Ltd (High Court, Ch D) (2019): acting for the claimant property developer in a c.£6 million claim for breach of a joint venture agreement (led by Simon Popplewell);
• R (City of York) v Arif & ors (Leeds Crown Court) (2019): successful prosecution of two individuals charged with fraudulent trading and money laundering following three-week trial. The defendants had participated in a sophisticated fraud perpetrated on merchant service providers through the exploitation of the charge back system and then laundered the proceeds through a telecoms company (led by Cameron Crowe);
• X v Y Ltd (High Court, QBD) (2018): successfully defended a major high street lender in contempt of court proceedings (sole counsel)

Financial Services

• Author of Financial Services Litigation, Oxford University Press (together with His Honour Judge Russen KC)
• General Editor of The Encyclopedia of Financial Services Law, loose leaf, Sweet & Maxwell (together with Jonathan Kirk KC)
• Contributing author to A Practitioner’s Guide to the UK Financial Services Rulebooks, 7th Edition, Sweet & Maxwell (chapter on CONC – the Consumer Credit Sourcebook)
• Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents, Vol. 12 (1) A – Consumer Credit, LexisNexis (together with Fred Philpott)

Consumer and Regulatory

• Contributing editor to Consumer and Trading Standards: Law and Practice (‘the Pink Book’), 4th – 12th Editions, LexisNexis
• Contributing author to Miller: Product Liability and Safety Encyclopaedia (Division IV – Criminal Law: Product Safety)

• Called Middle Temple 2013
• BA in Jurisprudence at University of Oxford
• Financial Services Lawyers Association
• Food Law Group

Robin’s privacy notice may be viewed here: Privacy Notice