New division will replace the Chancery Division under major High Court reforms
The judiciary, with support from the government, has announced a significant restructuring of the High Court through the creation of a new Business and Property Division.
The reform will bring together all Business and Property Courts under a single divisional structure. At present, those courts operate across both the King’s Bench Division and the Chancery Division. Under the new arrangements, they will form part of the newly established Business and Property Division.
The Business and Property Courts deal with high-value and complex disputes, including commercial, business, property, technology, construction and intellectual property cases. Many of these cases involve international parties and play an important role in supporting the UK’s legal services sector and wider economy.
The new division will replace the Chancery Division and sit alongside the King’s Bench Division and the Family Division within the High Court. Despite the structural change, the individual courts and specialist lists that make up the Business and Property Courts will continue operating as they do now, retaining their existing jurisdictions, identities and areas of expertise.
According to the announcement, the reforms aim to make it easier for court users to identify where cases should be brought, improve clarity within the court system, strengthen the international standing of the Business and Property Courts, simplify governance arrangements and support more flexible judicial deployment.
The new division will be led by a Head of Division known as the President of the Business and Property Division. The current Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Colin Birss, will assume that role. Official judiciary records confirm that Sir Colin Birss has served as Chancellor of the High Court since November 2025.
In a joint announcement, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, and David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, said the changes are intended to modernise the High Court and strengthen the accessibility and profile of the Business and Property Courts.
The reforms will not alter the wider structure of the King’s Bench Division or affect the existing work carried out by the courts and lists that will form part of the new division.
Subject to the making of an Order in Council, the judiciary said the new Business and Property Division is expected to be established early in the next legal year.