Troubled insurer will face £637m legal battle

THE shamed insurance claims firm formerly known as Quindell is facing a High Court battle over a disastrous £637m deal.

Quindell – now called Watchstone – sold its professional services arm to Australian law company Slater & Gordon in 2015.

But later that year, Quindell admitted it had dramatically overstated revenues in previous accounts, turning a £107m profit for 2013 into a loss of £64m.

As a result, S&G discovered its acquisition was worth £505.1m less than it thought. It meant the business lost £256.3m in the final six months of 2016.

Shares in S&G have now fallen more than 98pc since the deal was finalised and yesterday the law firm said it would seek up to £637m in damages.

Watchstone, which is being probed by the Serious Fraud Office, lost £178m in 2015 and £205.3m in 2014.

The firm’s founder Rob Terry, 48, has also faced questions from the SFO, and is no longer involved in the company. Last year he launched a vineyard.

Shares in Watchstone are down 97pc from their peak in 2014. They remained flat at 140p yesterday.