Couple feared cannabis tycoon ‘Dr Pot’ would destroy their 6 horses
A MILLIONAIRE medicinal cannabis entrepreneur issued a legal threat which led a couple to believe that their horses would be removed from a lavish venue and destroyed.
Dr Geoffrey Guy, nicknamed ‘Dr Pot’ after making his fortune from cannabis-based drugs, fell out with Alo and Andrew Brake last November.
The Brakes were Dr Guy’s former employees at Axnoller farm in Beaminster, Dorset, a luxury wedding venue where the actor Sean Bean married his fifth wife, Ashley Moore, in 2017. But they have stayed on in their accommodation at the property with their son and groom, despite their employment being terminated.
The five-month legal dispute between Dr Guy, 64, and the Brakes has apparently become so acrimonious that couples planning weddings at the venue have felt forced to look for alternatives.
Court documents show the Brakes were sent a letter in December giving 96 hours to remove their six horses from the stables. Otherwise, they were warned Axnoller Events, of which Dr Guy is a director, could ‘dispose’ of the animals ‘by way of sale, destruction or another way at the client’s discretion’.
Yeovil County Court District Judge ‘frankly Davis rather called concerning,’ this statement and issued an injunction preventing the horses’ removal in December.
Axnoller Events denied making any threat to kill the horses, and a spokesman told the Sunday Times: ‘The company’s solicitor simply used the language of the relevant statute…in its efforts to persuade the Brakes to remove the horses.’
The firm’s spokesman later said it simply wanted the horses removed and had no plans to kill them. Dr Guy is estimated to be worth £100million after founding GW pharmaceuticals, which is known for its multiple sclerosis treatment derived It is understood from the cannabis he bought plant. Axnoller Events and the farm in 2017 for £7million. The Brakes had previously managed the property, turning it into a wedding venue. Set in 100 acres of countryside, its website describes it as ‘a place lost in time’. The Brakes also installed the stables before they were declared bankrupt in 2015. The couple claimed Dr Guy promised they could live in the main building for five years but, following an argument on November 8, he sacked them and served a notice asking them to leave. The pair were told to move into a neighbouring cottage but have refused to leave Axnoller house. Axnoller Events said the Brakes were only meant to stay at the house during weddings while working there. The dispute has meant that Dr Guy hosted a wedding at his own house, the neighbouring Chedlington Court, a grade II listed Jacobean- style property last weekend.
His company’s spokesman said he bought the property because he wanted to establish an elite equestrian team training facility there, rather than use it as a wedding venue. The Brakes could not be reached for comment.