Robert Tchenguiz Lost Court Battle against CMC

British entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz has lost a court fight against CMC Spreadbet Plc, with a judge ordering him to pay £1.31 million to the company.

CMC had sued Tchenguiz after failing to pay his debt. In his ruling, Deputy High Court Judge David Elvin QC said that the property tycoon had been ‘lawfully’ categorized as a professional client. In its ruling, the court found that Tchenguiz had “failed to take any reasonable steps” to avoid incurring the debt and that he was liable for the amount owed.

In an official statement released following the ruling, Tchenguiz said he plans to appeal the decision.

Tchenguiz is planning to appeal a recent court ruling that sided with CMC Markets (CMC), the online trading platform, in a case involving the classification of Tchenguiz as a professional client. 

In the original case, Tchenguiz argued that CMC had failed to provide him with appropriate warnings regarding the loss of protections and rights he would have enjoyed as a retail client. 

However, in Friday’s ruling, Judge David Elvin found that CMC had not breached its duties to Tchenguiz. Tchenguiz has now said that he plans to appeal the decision.

Background

The debt came about due to the severe market decline after the coronavirus pandemic drove down the shares of FirstGroup Plc. 

Tchenguiz had a decent stake in FirstGroup in 2019. By March 2020, he had increased his exposure to FirstGroup by taking several positions.

“It follows that the claimant succeeds, and the Defendant is liable to CMC for £1.31 million in addition to interest from the date of consummation,” Elvin said.