Two things. Before signing, the deal usually cannot complete, because the letter of appointment sits on the conditions precedent list. After signing, if the appointment lapses or was never made, any claim must be served on you abroad, often under the Hague Service Convention, adding months of delay, and you may be in breach of the agreement itself.
At the transaction stage
Where the clause requires an agent and none is appointed, the counterparty's solicitors will simply hold completion. In financings the letter of appointment is a standard condition precedent, so funds do not move without it. Given appointment takes 24 hours and costs from £125 per year, it is never the item worth delaying a transaction over.
If a dispute arises with no agent in place
The claimant must serve you where you are. Service out of the jurisdiction can require court permission and, in many countries, transmission through official channels under the Hague Service Convention, a process that routinely takes months and sometimes longer. That delay cuts both ways: it prolongs uncertainty for you and raises the risk of applications for alternative service or, if documents eventually reach the wrong desk, of a judgment you learn about late.
Letting an appointment lapse is a breach
Most clauses oblige you to maintain an agent throughout the life of the agreement, so allowing an appointment to expire is itself a breach, and in facility documents can trip a default. This is why we write ahead of every fixed term expiry and why annual appointments continue until you confirm the agreement has ended. If you have discovered a lapsed appointment, contact us today and cover can usually be restored within 24 hours.