Gallagher v Gallagher (No.2) (Financial Remedies) [2022] EWFC 5313 June 2022
Published: 07/07/2022 09:00
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2022/53.html
Mostyn J.
Substantive financial remedies decision accompanying Gallagher v Gallagher (No.1) (Reporting Restrictions) [2022] EWFC 52. Assets £34.5m including value of H’s 50% shareholding in a construction company. The value of the company was established using formula (A x B) + C where A is the future maintainable earnings of the business, B is the appropriate multiplier to be applied, and C is the amount of the surplus assets of the business. The parties’ dispute was how much of the business's value should be excluded to reflect its foundation some years prior to the start of the parties' relationship, and in particular whether that should be calculated on the linear basis or an intuitive basis. Court excluded 24.5% value as pre-marital.
Of the £34.5m, some £28.4m was marital and divided equally on equal sharing with no modification required for needs. W’s share was to be paid in two lump sums with significant pps in the interim. H to pay child maintenance top-up but with a deduction equivalent to most of the school fees that he was paying (the balance of fees nominally allocated to W).
Mostyn J makes clear that this was not a complex case, yet 5% of the parties’ assets, some £1.67m, had been spent on legal fees and experts’ reports. W had a litigation loan of which £700k at 14% interest that judge provides for in lump sum to W. Judge notes that ‘It is emblematic of the wastage of money that it seems has plagued this case that the wife should have been forced to take out a high interest litigation loan rather than being provided with monies on account of her award.’
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