£635,000 legal bill for The Plumber

PAUL Davidson, the colourful entrepreneur known as The Plumber, has lost a £635,000 legal claim brought against him by his own company.

The High Court ruled in favour of shareholders of Oystertec and against Davidson, founder of the pipe-fitting products company, in a settlement that could cost him £575,000 plus £60,000 in costs.

Oystertec initiated High Court action against the former pipe-fitter after losing an earlier case brought by Davidson's former company, Easyrad, over ownership of a key radiator patent called the Oystertec Convertor.

The judgment was reached more than a month ago, but details of the settlement have just been revealed. A spokeswoman for Oystertec said it had taken the view that shareholders would 'prefer to distance themselves' from the situation.

However, there appears little chance of Oystertec shareholders actually seeing any money. Davidson's assets were frozen by the courts at the beginning of the year. He has since been held in contempt of court for breaking the ruling by selling shares in Oystertec worth more than £155,000. He said the court orders had left him with no money and no access to funds.

A major shareholder in Oystertec said he was relieved that the matter had been settled by the courts, but believed getting the money out of Davidson would be 'another matter altogether'.

Davidson shot to prominence after gambling £6m with spread betting firm City Index on Cyprotexa, a company he was floating. The controversial bet earned him a £750,000 fine from the Financial Services Authority. The fine has not been paid and an appeal tribunal will meet in June.

Davidson said he would counter sue Oystertec, the FSA and City Index, for loss of income, assets and reputation. He denied that the latest court decision had even been reached. 'It is not settled, it will be appealed and Oystertec will be in deep pain,' he added.