Case No. RS20D03594

43.Both parties submitted detailed Position Statements prior to the case commencing. On behalf of the Wife, Lucy Stone QC and Duncan Brooks said that the overall wealth was in the region of £239 million gross, of which property and lifestyle assets amounted to approximately £89 million; bank/investments to £123 million; and business assets of £27 million, namely the value of DEF Inc, but these figures do appear to include the Trust which is clearly for the children alone. Moreover, the figures do not include any tax liabilities as described above. Complaint was made that enormous amounts had been spent on properties that were now worth far less than had been invested in them. In particular, Property J is now almost complete other than further landscaping works to the grounds. $61 million had been spent but the agreed value is $35 million. The figures for the Z Street Property are total costs of $32.65 million, as against a current value of $19 million. The Wife should have the Z Street Property if the Husband is to have Property J and the property on the private island. If Property W is not to go to Child B, the Husband could have it, given that he considers it suitable for the Wife. The boat is worth €18.75 million, having cost €23 million in 2018. The plane is now worth $6.5 million. In relation to the dividend tax, the reality is that it will not be payable. The Husband has cash of £10 million and is personally owed £56 million. The liability to the tax authority of Country X cannot possibly be taken at any higher than the offer of c. $40 million that it has indicated it would accept and, in any event, the Husband’s sister will be liable for 25% of this figure. DEF Inc is fully matrimonial and cannot be given to the children. The Wife should receive her share on its realisation. Turning to outgoings, it is said that the criticisms of the Wife’s budget of £1.85 million per annum have to be seen in the context of the Husband putting the family’s outgoings at between £2 million and £3.25 million per annum. To suggest that the Wife should have only £644,000 per annum would be quite wrong. 44.The Note prepared on behalf of the Husband by Deborah Bangay QC and Richard Sear says that the Husband’s offer, which was worth £51.4 million, is now worth £48.2 million given the reduced asset valuations. This is more than sufficient to meet the Wife’s reasonable needs, so the only issue is whether she has a sharing claim. The Wife’s claim for £81.8 million is quite wrong out of net assets that the Husband puts at £144.5 million. If the DEF Inc deed had not been signed on 21 December 2021, the entire interest worth $27 million would have been acquired by the PE Company for $188,000. The relevance of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement is that it evidences the dynastic nature of the wealth generated from the sale of ABC Inc. There is a dispute about the loan interest payable on DEF Inc that I will have to resolve. In total, the Husband received c. $240 million from his parents tax free and he got a further c. $330 million from the sale of ABC Inc as well as c. $80 million from the sale of the property interests. The difference between the two asset schedules is almost all tax, other than the Wife wrongly including the Trust for the children at £27.5 million. There is significant criticism made of the Wife’s spending from the proceeds of sale of Flat 1 and the reduction in the net proceeds of sale from £4.4 million to £1.1 million, even allowing for legal fees of £700,000. There are two valuable time shares in a ski resort that give four weeks per annum each. The Wife has expressed a wish to retain one of these time shares. The Husband agrees to her doing so but he will sell his timeshare. The point is then made that it is difficult to see why the Wife offers a tax indemnity amounting to only 1/3rd of the tax given that she is basically seeking equality. The Wife’s claim to half of any proceeds of DEF Inc ignores the fact that the funding came from the Husband’s inherited assets. The net value after the loans are repaid is only £4.3 million. The much higher standard of living enjoyed by the parties only dates to after the eventual sale of ABC Inc. The Husband is prepared to let the Wife use the plane, although this would not be possible if he sells it. In oral evidence, he also offered to let her use the yacht, although I noted that this sort of sharing arrangement is unusual, absent consent, and the Wife was clearly not happy with such an offer. Finally, he argues that his budget for the Wife of £650,000 per annum net would require £16.3 million on a