Metro founder Hill faces court fight over ‘sexism’

FLAMBOYANT Metro Bank founder Vernon Hill has been accused of ‘blatantly and insulting sexist comments’ in a legal battle with former business associates.

Hill, a US billionaire who set up Metro in 2010, is being sued by husband and wife Christopher and Natasha Ashton, co-founders of US pet insurance Fetch, where he is chairman and a major investor.

Fetch was founded by the British couple in 2003, and Hill invested in it in 2008. The Ashtons were fired as joint chief executives last April, shortly after the birth of their first child, and claim Hill was responsible for their wrongful dismissal.

Hill allegedly asked Mr Ashton to become the sole chief executive after finding out his wife was pregnant, according to court documents in Delaware seen by the Financial Times.

Mr Ashton is said to have refused, and the couple were both sacked in what they claim was a breach of contract.

Hill, 73, is also facing criticism in the UK over the way Metro is run after shares plunged following an accounting error.

The tycoon lives in the US, where he owns New Jersey’s largest mansion, and gets £10,000 a month from Metro, on top of his salary, to cover accommodation expenses and travel to the bank’s London HQ. The tycoon declined to comment last night.