Quindell Faces GBP9 Million Claim, Plans To Defend Itself “Vigorously”

Quindell added: ‘whilst the company is not in a position to verify the assertions in the notice (as no claim has been received as yet), the notice estimates the value of the potential claims against the company to be a maximum value of approximately £9m before costs (if awarded).

Your Legal Friend, the trading name of Camps Solicitors, has been building a case against AIM-listed Quindell for months.

Investors have since suffered a dramatic collapse in the share price, that started when an American short-seller publically questioned Quindell’s accounts in April 2014.

Sept 29 Insurance claims processor Quindell Plc said that it had received a letter described as a “notice of intended claim” of up to about 9 million pounds ($13.7 million) from a law firm representing an unnamed claimant group.

Quindell, which intends to vigorously defend itself against the claims if they are formally lodged, said it is not aware of any other law firms acting for any other claimant groups.

Earlier this year, the firm sold its professional services arm to Australian law firm Slater and Gordon for £637 million and plans to return at least £500 million of the proceeds to shareholders.

My Legal Friend said it would wait for additional evidence from the PwC report on accounting policies and related matters, the 2014 annual report and asset or business disposals now being considered by Quindell – before proceeding.

Quindell was forced to restate 2013 results and apply the same more conservative accounting to its 2014 figures, and saw pre-tax losses widen significantly to £238 million for 2014, up from £8.6 million the year before.

It is understood that it has estimated costs could amount to between £5m and £10m. So far, the overhaul of its management team and employment of Indro Mukerjee as chief executive has failed to generate demand for the shares. The shares are up nearly 150% year-to-date.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.