Wife awarded £13m in divorce case as judge criticises husband

A woman has been awarded just over £13m following a long-running financial dispute with her former husband, a businessman, after a 20-year relationship.

Sarah Tweedie, Associate Solicitor in our Family Law team, reports on this recent case.

Mr Justin Warshaw KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Family Court, ruled that the settlement should leave the wife with around 43% of the couple’s total wealth, worth more than £30m.

Background

The parties, anonymised as TF (husband) and SF (wife), met in the late 1990s and married in 2006. They have three children, now aged 21, 19 and 16. The husband built up a successful business in heavy plant and later in offshore decommissioning, while the wife managed the family home.

Their marriage broke down in 2021. The court heard evidence of a high standard of living during the relationship, including private schooling, luxury holidays, and a substantial Art Deco family home.

Disputed assets

The most contentious issue concerned the husband’s sale of shares in a port redevelopment project, LM1, which realised £29.5m in 2023, with a further £9.5m due in October 2025. The husband argued these were post-separation, non-matrimonial assets.

The wife said the foundations of the deal had been laid during the marriage.

The judge found the project had its origins while the couple were still together and ruled that the proceeds should be shared, though not equally, taking into account the husband’s post-separation efforts and the wife’s continuing domestic contribution.

Findings on conduct and disclosure

The judge criticised the husband’s conduct in litigation, including failures of disclosure and attempts to put financial pressure on the wife after separation. He described him as “confident, charismatic and charming” but also “intimidating” and at times dishonest in evidence.

By contrast, the wife was considered “an essentially honest witness”, though some of her claims were described as overstated.

The judge rejected her attempt to frame parts of the case as misconduct under s25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 but said her role in supporting the children since separation was a significant factor.

The order

On a clean-break basis, the judge ordered that:

• The wife retains the £3.4m family home.
• She receives the balance of a frozen escrow account worth just over £5m.
• The husband must pay her a further lump sum of £4.8m by October 2025.

This leaves her with £13.1m, or 43% of total assets. The husband will retain about £17.3m. He must also pay for their youngest child’s education and £25,000 per year in child maintenance, subject to formal consent.

The judge said the husband should pay one-third of the wife’s costs.

For more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law please contact Sarah on 01434 603656 or click here to send her an email.