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Tycoon told to pay GBP 7m divorce settlement
Mon 26 Jul 2010
A millionaire internet tycoon has been ordered to pay GBP 7 million to his estranged wife in a divorce settlement.
Robert Jennings has been estimated to be worth GBP 14 million, but insisted in court that he is actually worth a much lower amount.
As a result, he tried to negotiate a smaller divorce settlement with his wife Sarah.
Mr Jennings stated that the pair had been living beyond their means throughout their 23-year marriage, while he also claimed the recession had dented the size of his fortune.
This, he said, meant that a payout of the kind that was being sought by his former wife would have placed him in financial difficulty.
However, the High Court rejected these assertions and ordered him to pay out the GBP 7 million sum.
The couple's six-bedroom home in the Cotswolds, which includes features such as a swimming pool and two tennis courts, has now been put up for sale.
Carol Ellinas, a partner at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "Robert Jennings was seeking leave to appeal the original court decision which awarded his ex-wife GBP 7 million.
"This award would have been based on the value of the assets at the date of the divorce. The court would no doubt have taken into account the fact that they were living beyond their means.
"The grounds on which you can appeal a decision are limited and rarely will there be a retrial. The appeal judge made it clear he was not going to change the lower court's findings of fact.
"It is essential that you take specialist family law advice when considering appealing a court decision. This appeal will have cost Robert Jennings a lot of money."
