Punter Southall, the insurance and pensions business, may be facing a multi-million pound expense, following a court judgement over the dismissal of Daniel Pender as CEO of the Gryphon Group protection insurance business back in 2017.
It has been reported by CityWire that the company may have to pay legal costs of £17m.
And it adds that Punter Southall could end up paying millions more following its defence of a case against brought by Pender after he was dismissed as CEO of Gryphon Group on 20 November 2017.
Pender was a founder of the Gryphon Group and he says via his LinkedIn page that he has been the managing director of Gryphon Enterprises since December 2015.
Punter Southall’s most recent annual report and financial statement was for the year ended 31 December 2023, and was filed on 8 January, 2025.
The report stated that: “During 2023 a judgement was handed down to the Group in respect of a legal claim.”
It adds that: “The amount payable by the Group under this judgement is yet to be determined by the court.”
It said: “The provision recognised in other creditors in the accounts reflects interim payment the Group has been asked to make by the court to the plaintiff and the court.”
The report shows that in 2023, Punter Southall had total payables to ‘other creditors’ of £35,741.000, compared to £18,245,000 in 2022. That represents an increase of £17,496,000.
The report states: “The directors do not believe any payment other than costs should be made to the plaintiff on the basis of evidence provided by an independent expert and other industry experts.
But it noted that: “under IAS 37, reimbursements of any amount due cannot be recognised in the accounts until they are virtually certain.”