A multi-millionaire who handed £200,000 to a street sweeper buddy nearly ten years ago has won a court fight to make him pay it all back.
John Rankin Cornforth inherited a few million after his wealthy father passed away, some of which he gifted to Simon Denyer, a local authority street cleaner.
Cornforth, 62, gave Denyer £200,000 in three instalments between 2012 and 2014 after the pair formed a friendship, but has now taken his mate to court to make him pay the money back, with interest paid on top.
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The pair became 'drinking buddies' after they met at New Year's Eve party in 1979, where Cornforth generously gave the street cleaner £76,300 to cover the cost of his divorce.
His generosity did not end there, two years later Cornforth gave his friend £125,000 to pay off the mortgage on his flat.
Denyer who worked for Guildford Borough Council, claimed the majority of the money was gifted and not a loan.
The pals have both agreed that Cornforth gave Denyer £26,300 to cover cost of his divorce in 2012, followed by a further £50,000 to cover the settlement sum to his ex wife in 2013, and £125,000 to pay off the mortgage on his flat in 2014.
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Denyer has admitted that the money for the divorce was a loan which has to be paid back, but claims Cornforth paid off his mortgage as 'a gift'.
However, Cornforth insisted that all the money was a loan and also requesting interest on the divorce loans at one percent above Bank of England base rate for the last ten years.
Denyer stated that the pair had agreed there was no interest payable of then ten year old loan.
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Appearing at Mayors and City Count Court, Cornforth told Judge Stephen Hellman that £200,000 is 'not huge sum' to him but he had 'trusted' his friend to pay it back.
Denyer's lawyer, Chris Howitt responded: "For Mr Denyer, who is a street cleaner, that is an enormous sum. He was in a dire financial situation. This was a gift wasn't it, because he was your friend wasn't it?"
"No," Mr Cornforth replied.
Cornforth's lawyer, David Brounger argued that the two men had agreed all the money was a loan which would be repaid in ten years as Denyer believed he would come into an inheritance in that time.
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Howitt told the judge that there is 'no written record' and 'no documentary evidence' but Cornforth stated that he did not ask for written proof because he 'trusted' Denyer.
But after two days in court, Judge Stephen Hellman this afternoon ruled that the £125,000 to cover the mortgage had also been a loan, not a gift, and so would have to be repaid.
“It is in my judgment inherently implausible that the claimant, even though at the time he was a wealthy man, would have given £125,000 - a substantial sum - to a friend, even a close friend,” he said.
“There is no contemporaneous evidence that this was a gift in the sense of any documentation recording that was what was intended.
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“I am satisfied that the mortgage advance was understood by both the claimant and the defendant to be a loan.”
He said the £125,000, plus interest, would have to be paid back, but ruled that no interest is due on the sums used to pay off Mr Denyer’s divorce bills.
Shiala Mahmood