Savills is sued over £3m fraud

SOME of Britain's wealthiest landowners are suing upmarket estate agent Savills in the High Court over a £3.5m fraud. Sir Thomas Lees, Henry Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, whose relatives are close friends of the Royal Family, and Sir George Meyrick are all trustees of the Talbot Village Trust, based in Poole, Dorset, which builds student hostels and homes for the elderly.

The trustees, all major landowners in Dorset, are taking the action on behalf of the 144-year-old charity in the wake of a court case earlier this year.

In February, three men - architect Guy Pound, 71, and surveyors Peter Beard, 56, and Anthony Green, 76 - were found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of defrauding the charity of £3.5m over 11 years.

Now the trustees are taking action against the men as well as now deceased Savills agent Harry Groome, who, the court heard, had been bribed by the trio and Savills itself.

Groome was paid £15,000 along with lavish sweeteners, including holidays, champagne, cigars and meals at exclusive restaurants.

Pound, who ran an architectural practice in the exclusive Canford Cliffs area of Poole, stole £2.25m out of the £4.8m he received for his services. He spent some of the money on a home on the Isle of Man, a cruise on the QE2 and trips to Venice and Paris.

All three denied conspiring to defraud the Talbot Village Trust, which was founded in 1860 by philanthropist Georgina Talbot, but all were convicted following the year-long trial. Pound was jailed for three years, later increased to six years on appeal, while Green and Beard were given nine-month sentences, suspended for two years.

A spokesman for legal firm Dickinson Manser, which is handling the case, commented: 'This is a civil claim against the various defendants following on from the criminal trial which concluded this year. The claim is in its early stages.'

Savills issued a statement that said: 'Those convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Talbot Village Trust were instructed to advise the trustees of the Talbot Village Trust in connection with development projects. Mr Groome, an adviser to the trust, retired from employment with Savills in 1994 and died in December 2000.

'Savills was not mentioned in the criminal charges. It denies that it had any involvement in the fraud and no criminal charges have been brought against it.'

Last week Savills, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, unveiled plans for a special dividend of 20p a share as it announced its profits for the year would be more than 10% ahead of expectations.