On 31 July 2026, the High Court handed down its judgment in Waddell HoldCo Limited v Bluebell Cars Holding Limited and others [2026] EWHC 2028 (Ch).

Mr Justice Marcus Smith found that Mr Waddell was unlawfully excluded from Big Motoring World and that Peter Waddell Holdco Ltd was unfairly prejudiced by the conduct of private equity fund Freshstream. The Judge found that Mr Waddell was excluded from the business as a result of a “pre-conceived and orchestrated plan” hatched by Freshstream to take control of the business – not because of any genuine concern about Mr Waddell’s conduct. Had inappropriate behaviour by Mr Waddell been addressed earlier he would have ameliorated his behaviour before he committed gross misconduct. The Judge also found that one of the Freshstream directors, Reza Fardad, and Freshstream’s appointed chairman, Laurence Vaughan, acted in breach of their directors’ duties in relation to the removal of Mr Waddell from the business. Mr Waddell’s wrongful dismissal claim was unsuccessful.

The Judgment sets out detailed criticism of the investigation into Mr Waddell’s behaviour, including finding that the independent investigator was not able to determine the process but was subject to the direction of an Investigation Committee, which included Mr Vaughan who was in a position of conflict. Further, the Investigation Committee framed the allegations, identified complainants and members of the Committee were also witnesses in the investigation.

The case will be of interest to lawyers dealing with senior executive exits in private equity-backed structures and advising on investigations into misconduct allegations.

Talia Barsam together with Alan Gourgey KC, Anna Littler and Ernest Leung of Wilberforce Chambers appeared as counsel for Mr Waddell, instructed by a team at Quinn Emanuel, led by partner Justin Michaelson.

A copy of the Judgment can be found here.

The case has received significant media coverage, notably in The Independent and The Guardian.