Ex-boss of Robson firm sued for £1m

INVESTORS in a firm where Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson is a director are suing its former chairman, Graham Gutteridge, and accusing him of buying a £500,000 London house using company money.

The house was allegedly bought in his wife's name. Other money is said to have been used to pay fees for Gutteridge's 17-year-old daughter at the Lucy Clayton Finishing School. City venture capital firm Bracken Partners is suing Gutteridge for allegedly misappropriating company assets, according to documents in the possession of Financial Mail. The firm has already taken out an injunction freezing £1.25m of his assets.

Bracken is suing on behalf of independent shareholders in Non-League Media, which publishes papers and magazines for fans of non-league football. Former England coach Robson is understood to have 50,000 shares in the firm.

Gutteridge is suspected of transferring money from the group to a private company, then into his private vehicle and finally into his own bank account. On November 13, Non-League Media sacked Gutteridge, who had been executive chairman as well as a shareholder, and started action aimed at recovering more than £1m of company money.

The group had previously announced that results for the half-year to the end of December 2000 were mis-stated. The black hole in the accounts was found by Jonathan Stobart before he took up a job as finance director. Bracken, which backed the company's AIM flotation in May 2000, then called in accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers to investigate.

One series of transactions stood out. On August 25 last year, Non-League transferred £272,000 to Eye Group, in which Gutteridge has a majority stake. On the same day, the same sum was paid by Eye to GMG Management, which Gutteridge owns. GMG immediately paid it into a solicitor's account in the name of Gutteridge's wife, Sariah Smalley. She then bought a house in Acton, west London, for £499,950.

PWC also found less cash in Non-League's account than was in the books. When PWC checked Eye Group's accounts, it found that money had been paid out to GMG and used to pay fees for the Lucy Clayton Finishing School.

Keith Oliver, partner at City law firm Peters & Peters, said: 'On November 2, an injunction was granted freezing the worldwide assets of Gutteridge and our clients are determined to take steps to recover the funds.'

Lawyers for Gutteridge did not return calls, but he has denied wrong-doing and is understood to be defending the actions and seeking to have the injunction lifted.