The extent of the duty of a mortgagee on selling the mortgaged property has recently been considered again in the case of Meftah v Lloyds TSB Bank plc ([2001] All ER (D) 276. The bank had sold as mortgagee in possession property provided as security by the borrower, 20 days after appointing receivers. The borrower contended that the sale was at an undervalue and that the property should have had a proper exposure to the market to obtain a better price. The court ruled that whilst a mortgagee might have to have some regard to timing to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable, the basic principle was that the power of sale was for the benefit of the mortgagee who was therefore entitled to chose the moment to sell which suited him best. In particular, there was no requirement that the mortgagee lend further moneys or fund trading activities in order to achieve a higher price at a later date, or take the risk of loss.
