Laura Ashley wife wins £64m after 4-year divorce f ight
A LAURA Ashley boss was yesterday ordered to hand his ex-wife £64million after a bitter dispute ended with one of the biggest divorce settlements in British history.
Such was the animosity between the warring couple that a judge once begged them to ‘declare an armistice’ on learning they had racked up more than £6million in lawyers’ fees.
In the High Court last June, Mr Justice Mostyn said the legal costs were ‘stratospheric’ as he urged Khoo Kay Peng, 78, and estranged wife Pauline Chai, 70, to reach an agreement.
Following the end of their 42-year marriage, the former beauty queen demanded around £100million but Dr Khoo – worth an estimated £205million – had only been prepared to pay her £9million.
Miss Chai, who lives in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, was finally told she would receive £64million, made up of cash and property. After yesterday’s hearing Miss Chai’s lawyer Ayesha Vardag said: ‘This litigation has been long and arduous.
‘It is a journey which has now ended in the affirmation of the principle of fair sharing. It emphasises that there is no place in England for discrimination between homemaker and breadwinner.’
The couple, who have three children, split four years ago, and much of the dispute centred around whether the divorce should be settled by an English or Malaysian court.
Dr Khoo, a non-executive chairman of Laura Ashley Holdings, had wanted the case heard in Malaysia, where he is based. He argued Miss Chai was determined to have the divorce decided in London because UK judges would award her a more generous settlement.
Dr Khoo said their marital home was in Malaysia, meaning a judge in the south-east Asian country should decide how to divide their multi-million-pound assets.
However, three Appeal Court judges later ruled the case should be heard in the UK while the legal row rumbled on over the size of any settlement.
During past hearings, Miss Chai claimed her ex-husband was worth at least £440million and said he had failed to give a ‘proper account’ of his true assets.
At the hearing last June, Mr Justice Mostyn was told Dr Khoo had run up legal bills of £1.7million, while his exwife’s costs amounted to £4.4million.
Yesterday’s ruling was made by Mr Justice Bodey at the Family Division of the High Court.
He is expected to provide a breakdown of the exact division of assets at a later date.
While Miss Chai’s settlement is one of the largest in British legal history, the biggest was awarded in July last year to Christina Estrada. The former model received £75million from Saudi businessman Walid Juffali.
‘Principle of fair sharing’