Oil tycoon faces £8 million bill after ex-wife wins appeal over £5.4 million settlement
An oil tycoon's ex-wife who said her £5.4million divorce payout was "far too low" has had it increased to £8million by Court of Appeal judges.
Gareth Jones, 58, insisted that the original sum awarded last year was a fair price to pay for his marriage to Victoria, 44, which lasted 10 years.
His lawyers pointed out that he started his business life as a 16-year-old apprentice before making his fortune in the offshore oil and gas industry, while his wife came from a privileged background, was "never expected to work by her parents" and lives in a £2.1million home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.
However, Mrs Jones pointed out that her former husband sold his business Dominion Technology Gases for more than £30million in May 2007.
Sir Nicholas Wall, sitting with Lady Justice Arden and Lord Justice Wilson, agreed her settlement was too low given the scale of her ex-husband's fortune.
Although she had demanded £10 million, the judges ruled that "overall fairness" dictated that she receive £8million.
The Court of Appeal heard that after working for 40 years, Mr Jones now lives in Arnage Castle in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
The couple separated in January 2007. Accountants calculated that the growth in the value of the business during their marriage had been £10million, but after the sale of the business Mrs Jones claimed that it had in fact been £23million, and asked for her payout to be doubled.
Mr Jones's barrister, Lucy Stone QC, told the court the couple had married in 1996 after a courtship of only a few weeks.
The divorce fight is estimated to have cost £1.5million in legal fees.
Katharine Landells, solicitor in the family law team at Withers LLP said both wives and husbands have benefited from the judgement.
"The wife in this case got an almost 50 per cent uplift in her award on appeal and benefited from the huge discretion that the family courts have when making awards," she said.
"But there is a silver lining for wealthy husbands as this case makes it clear that, provided there is enough money to meet the parties' needs, assets brought to a marriage can be ring fenced and not be shared on divorce.
"Accountants will be kept busy in future in these sorts of cases, working out the values of assets at the start of a marriage.
"A word of warning though: even though this judgment is a step in the right direction, a pre-nup is still advisable for wealthy parties getting married."
