Myerson v Myerson

Judgment

Lord Justice Thorpe:

On the 28 th February 2008 an ancillary relief application brought by the respondent (hereinafter “the wife”) against the appellant (hereinafter “the husband”) was compromised at a financial dispute resolution appointment conducted by Baron J. Of the assets then valued at £25.8 million, it was agreed that the wife would receive £11 million (43%) and the husband would retain £14.5 million (57%).

The husband was and is a fund manager operating through a company quoted on the AIM Exchange, Principle Capital Holdings Limited (hereinafter “PCH”). The wife’s portion, supplementing some small personal assets, was to be provided as to £9.5 million in cash and the balance by transfer of a house (known as Beach House) valued at approximately £1.5 million.

The husband’s assets consisted of a very substantial share holding in PCH and various properties. The sale of one of them was to be the source of the first instalment of the lump sum, £7 million payable in April 2008. At the date of the compromise, shares in PCH stood at £2.99, valuing the husband’s holding in the company at just over £15 million.

The order to give effect to the compromise was perfected on 19 th March 2008 by which time shares in PCH were quoted at £2.77½.

Shares in PCH are not much traded and a table demonstrating the price of the shares daily from 02/02/2007 to 09/03/2009 shows them rising from £2.76 to trade at over £3.00 a share from May 2007 to February 2008. From the price at the date of order the shares held up in value to over £2.00 per share until July 2008. At the end of September 2008 the shares were still priced at £1.62 per share. By 4 th November 2008, a date to which I will return, the shares stood at £1.40. By 23 rd December 2008, another date to which I will return, they had sunk to 72.5 pence per share. At the date of the hearing before this court on 11 th March 2009 they had sunk further to 27.5 pence per share.

Returning to the history of the litigation, the consent order of 19 th March required the payment of the lump sum of £9.5 million by a first instalment of £7 million due 3 rd April 2008 and by four further equal instalments of £625,000 due on the 3 rd April of the four succeeding years. Thus the husband was not required to complete his obligation until 3 rd April 2012. The first instalment was duly paid.

There were continuing difficulties in the implementation of the order leading to further appearances before Baron J on 1 st April an