Marathon court battle comes to an end

George Kerr's Pyne Gould Corporation, Bath Street Capital and Andrew Barnes have settled a long-running court case over the sale of Perpetual Trust stretching back to 2014.

Wednesday, August 11th 2021, 6:09AM 1 Comment

by Matthew Martin

The court action related to a fee Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) said was payable from the sale of Perpetual Trust in 2013 to Barnes' firm Bath Street Capital (BSC) where PGC was seeking damages of not less than $22 million.

In September 2016, after Perpetual Guardian announced plans for an initial public offer (IPO) on the NZX, the parties agreed to discontinue legal proceedings and negotiate a settlement but no settlement was reached with BSC saying at the time the fee was not and had never been, due.

"No IPO has yet been made, and there was neither an obligation for it nor a timeframe or quantum within the sale agreement," Barnes and BSC said at the time.

"Therefore, Bath Street Capital maintains its position that no payment is due to PGC until such an event occurs.”

In 2018, Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) recommenced High Court proceedings against Bath Street Capital (BSC) and its director, Andrew Barnes - who responded with a counter-claim.

Recently, however, Barnes - according to an article in the National Business Review - sold his companies Guardian Trust and Covenant to Asian financial services firm Tricor Group on July 12.

The terms of the settlement were published recently by Guernsey's stock exchange (where PGC is listed) stating the two companies had reached;

"Full and final settlement of all matters in dispute between them regarding the sale and purchase of Pyne Gould Corporation’s shareholding in Perpetual Trust Limited in 2013, including all matters currently before the High Court of New Zealand."

The agreed settlement amount of $13.5 million will be paid by BSC in two instalments of $6.75 million on execution of the Settlement Deed and $6.75 million by February 28, 2022, at the latest.

"The settlement has concluded on terms satisfactory to all parties," the statement reads.

Tags: Andrew Barnes Bath Street court George Kerr Perpetual Guardian PGC