Brokers in court battle over transfer of £300,000 accounts

Lloyd’s brokers SBJ Global Risks and Tysers are involved in a High Court battle over claims that accounts worth more than £300,000 were transferred between the companies by staff prevented from doing so by contractual restrictions.

SBJ claims that former employees Barrie West, Laurence Niel Mee and Stephen Karpus breached their contracts of employment when the business was switched, and is now seeking injunctions preventing the same thing happening again.

The three men are believed to have joined Tysers, which is also named on the 8 July writ to the High Court.

Tysers has rebutted the allegations, however.

In a statement, it said: “We are aware of the legal action initiated by SBJ Global Risks.

“We consider that the claims against Tysers are without foundation and the company has responded accordingly. We have no further comment.”

SBJ Global Risks, which refused to comment, is seeking damages and costs against the three former employees and Tysers “including aggravated, punitive or exemplary damages, for unlawfully conspiring together and with other employees of the claimant, to injure the claimaint’s business by unlawful means”.

West, Niel Mee and Karpus could not be reached for comment.

SBJ Global Risks, part of the SBJ Group when the company was snapped up by AXA in March last year, was recently the subject of a management buy-out.