CANDEY succeed in High Court shareholder dispute

On 23 May 2025, HHJ Mark Cawson KC (sitting as a judge of the High Court) handed down judgment in the long-running hard-fought case of Glenn & Slater v Walker, Dyer & Fifty Asset Management Limited.

CANDEY acted for the defendants, Messrs Walker and Dyer, with Justin Higgo KC and Andrew Gurr of Serle Court, in successfully defeating various wide ranging claims for breach of fiduciary duty, unlawful means conspiracy and a Companies Act derivative claim in respect of the renewable energy business in which the parties were previously involved. The claims included serious allegations of dishonesty and unlawful conduct which were ultimately dismissed with the judge concluding that many of the defendants’ actions were legally and commercially justified responses to the claimants’ own conduct. The judge also found that the first claimant had himself acted dishonestly and had no legitimate basis for secretly hacking the defendants’ emails.

Trial took place over two weeks in the High Court in London in March/April 2025. The claimants, represented by US firm, Troutman Pepper Locke, backed by litigation funding, were defeated on every material point. The 165 page judgment concluded, “For the reasons set out above, I consider that each of the claims sought to be advanced by the Claimants must fail, and therefore that the claim as a whole should be dismissed…”

The claims were said to be worth £17 million. While the court heard expert evidence from Alvarez & Marsel (for the claimants) and Ankura (for the defendants) it was not necessary for the judge to determine questions of value once the defendants had won on liability.

The CANDEY team was led by Andrew Dunn with Senior Solicitor, Emily Higgins, pupil barrister, Henry Watson, and various other members of the CANDEY team.

Andrew Dunn said: “we are delighted for our clients who have had to endure three and a half years of hard-fought litigation against claimants, backed by litigation funding, who refused to see the light. The judgment fully vindicates our clients and shows that proceedings ought never to have been commenced. We were right to fight every step of the way”.   

The judgment can be found here.

The case is another example of CANDEY’s position as a go-to firm for high stakes shareholder litigation.