Venture capital boss Julie Meyer sued over unpaid legal fees
Venture capital magnate Julie Meyer and her London-based investment firm Ariadne Capital are being sued by law firm Clifford Chance amid as row over unpaid fees, fnlondon.com reported.
The law firm filed a case against both Ms Meyer and Ariadne Capital at the High Court on 22 November, according to documents seen by Private Equity News’ sister publication Financial News.
Ms Meyer is founder and chief executive of VC fund Ariadne Capital, founder of networking and event group Entrepreneur Country and managing partner of the Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund, all of which provide investment and advice to start-ups in the media and technology sectors.
Between 2010 and 2015 she was a member of the UK government’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum and in 2011 she was awarded an MBE for her services to entrepreneurship.
No further documents detailing the 22 November claim are yet publicly available but a person close to Ariadne Capital said the lawsuit related to money owed to Clifford Chance for legal advice. The Magic Circle law firm had been engaged by Ariadne Capital in London to work on a number of transactions related to the portfolio companies in its funds.
Meyer said the lawsuit she faced was a ”casualty of a long-drawn out acquisition of Ariadne Capital Ltd (our London operating subsidiary) by the Malta-based (holding company) ACGL.”
The acquisition deal has not yet been completed.
She said Clifford Chance would be paid for its work at the “time of the acquisition” and added “the board of ACGL just wanted to get that acquisition done before paying the creditors of Ariadne Capital Ltd.” Clifford Chance declined to comment. Ariadne, who starred in the online version of the BBC show Dragon’s Den, has faced a string of litigation in the last decade, including a claim from entrepreneur support vehicle Start Up Loans to pay back money intended for distribution to small businesses. It has also been subject to disputes brought by chartered accountant Kingston Smith, law firms Nabarro and GQ Employment Law and PR firm Lansons.