£20m Lloyds legal bill

MORE than £20m of fees will be pocketed by lawyers as Lloyds and former bosses defend claims they ‘mugged’ shareholders by acquiring toxic rival HBOS.

Around 5,800 investors are suing the bank for £600m, alleging the 2008 deal destroyed the value of their savings. The High Court is letting Lloyds spend an extra £1.5m on top of its existing £19.1m, partly because the case is running on longer than expected. Its lawyers are Herbert Smith Freehills.

The claimants’ legal bill is due to hit £17.6m.