Neighbours at war in Oystertech feud

THE tranquillity of the chocolate-box village of Prestbury is rarely disturbed by anything much more than a mildly disputed golf score or delayed post. But the peace of this Cheshire idyll has been spectacularly shattered by a bitter falling-out between two of the country's richest businessmen.

At stake are millions of pounds of shares - and the reputations of the men who, until recently, were close personal friends.

On one side is self-made millionaire Paul 'The Plumber' Davidson, 46, the founder of Oystertec, the £76 million pipe-fitting firm. The Financial Services Authority is investigating his £6 million spread bet on the flotation last February of Cyprotex, a biotechnology company in which he has a 35% stake.

On the other side is Angus Monro, 53, chairman and chief executive of Oystertec, who had carved out a reputation as one of Britain's top retailers when he ran the discount fashion group, Matalan.

Not so long ago, the pair were close friends, often sharing a pint at their local and a round at Prestbury Golf Club. They live a few hundred yards apart, their houses separated by the golf course.

But their relationship has now turned spectacularly - and very publicly - sour.

Earlier this month, Davidson branded Monro 'an idiot' and 'lowlife'. In the staid world of the City, the outburst was electric. Ironically, Monro also owns a seven% stake in Cyprotex - a gift from Davidson when the pair were on better terms.

Outwardly, the gentle pace of life continues in Prestbury. On a quiet lunchtime last week, regulars at the pub, the Admiral Rodney, refused to be drawn on their warring neighbours. In the snug, a group from the local investment club discussed stocks and shares.

Only a few months ago, Davidson and Monro could have been discussing their - far larger - investments in the same bar.

Chat over investments at the pub is one of the signs that Prestbury is quite at home with affluence. The village garage is a Jaguar dealer, the notice board outside the Post Office carries handwritten cards from residents advertising holiday rentals, including a 'villa with pool in Turkey' and a 'holiday home in Gascony £600 pw'.

And while other villages complain of disappearing bank branches, Prestbury has two. It also has two restaurants. The windows of the two estate agents show details of houses worth £1 million or more.

Monro's home is clearly in this bracket. It is a modern luxury house with a long drive about a mile from the centre of the village. Davidson's house is more traditional and no less imposing. But Monro and Davidson are unlikely to share a pint after a round of golf again.

Their friendship began last summer when Monro was eased out as chief executive at Matalan. Davidson was then the biggest shareholder in Oystertec, which he had floated earlier in the year. Oystertec needed a chief executive and Davidson discovered that Monro was a close neighbour. He simply strolled round to his front door and offered him the job.

To the bemusement of the City and former colleagues, Monro took the post. He started work last September at £3,000-a-week. So began the friendship - and much closer business links between the two

men. Monro also has an 11% stake in technology investment company Galileo Innovation, another firm founded by Davidson and floated last February.

But this month, and without warning, Davidson sold 30 million Oystertec shares for about £6.2 million, cutting his stake to little more than one%. And in a blistering public attack, he accused Monro of ruining the business - blaming him for the drop in shares from a high of 63p at the time he was appointed to 21p, the price at which Davidson sold.

Davidson accused Monro of being 'lazy'. It was his 'constant holidaymaking' that had destroyed the company, Davidson claimed.

Monro has refused to respond to the attack, but has made his feelings plain in other ways. Immediately after Davidson's outburst, he spent £470,000 buying up some of the shares Davidson had sold.

Meanwhile, sources close to Monro describe Davidson's behaviour as 'very odd'. 'Selling your shares when they are at a low price and then complaining doesn't seem very rational,' said one.

An uneasy silence exists between Davidson and Monro. In most circumstances, former friends and business partners could simply avoid each other.

But such an easy parting of the ways is not possible here. Monro is the boss of Davidson's original business and a shareholder in all three of the companies that Davidson has floated. Their paths will undoubtedly cross in business again and again.

And for the residents of Prestbury, there is the mouthwatering prospect that the two tycoons might well run into each other in the Admiral Rodney, the village shop or on the golf course.