Top consultancy Capco sues for £145m after former boss ‘stole clients’

One of the City’s top management consultancies is suing its former UK boss and other ex-staff for up to £145 million for allegedly stealing clients and covering up the evidence.

Capco, which advises financial services companies, claims Andrew Tarver and his colleagues conspired to “divert” clients, business opportunities and even intellectual property to start-ups they formed “in secret”, according to court submissions seen by the Standard.

Clients alleged to have been “diverted” from Capco, which employs more than 3000 people, include banks ANZ and Williams & Glyn, and wealth management firm Killik.

Capco, which is owned by Wall Street giant FIS, claims their “unlawful” actions forced its technology start-up division called Bold Rocket to close.

The company is claiming for around £145 million in the High Court case. That is what it says Bold Rocket would be worth if it were still operational.

It is also demanding Tarver repay £1.5 million after selling shares given to him when Capco was sold to FIS.

Tarver ran Capco UK’s division until March 2014 when he stepped down after allegedly suffering “a series of mental health incidents”, which caused him to become depressed and have suicidal thoughts.

He agreed to run Bold Rocket, a new division which would target creative industries and other start-ups in an effort from Capco to reduce its focus on financial services.

Tarver claims Bold Rocket was established as a start-up “ecosystem” which would pool Capco’s resources and other start-ups.

But Capco alleges that, at the same time, Tarver and other employees set up a competing start-up called Trojan Piglet which formed the businesses now known as Thought Machine and Being Technologies.