Court Refuses to Penalise Husband’s Conduct in £30m Divorce Battle
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Melissa Arnold
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In a £30 million divorce case, a husband’s lies, lavish spending and controlling behaviour weren’t enough to sway the court, highlighting just how rarely misconduct influences financial outcomes.
If one party makes allegations about the other’s conduct following separation, the court applies a high bar before taking it into consideration in financial settlements.
A very high value ruling illustrates just how high that bar is in practice. Despite his lies and non-disclosure, the husband’s conduct, as alleged by the wife, did not reach the required threshold. He was not penalised in the award made, but he faced consequences in terms of costs.
What’s the background?
The parties in TF v SF [2025] EWHC 1659 married in 2006 after cohabiting from around 2000. They had three children. The husband (now in his 50s) built up a successful family business buying, selling and renting out heavy plant machinery while the wife (now in her 40s) ran the family home.
The marriage broke down in 2021 and they separated, with the wife and children remaining at home. The wife started divorce proceedings in late 2021. The ensuing litigation was drawn out with legal costs reaching £1.4m by the time of the final hearing.
The business had brought substantial wealth during the course of the marriage and, at the time of separation, their combined assets were almost £30.5m.
But when they separated, the husband (who controlled all the family wealth) drastically reduced the wife’s access to finances – while he continued to spend lavishly on himself and the children. This was, said the family judge, a deliberate choice motivated by anger and “the start of a campaign launched” against her.
The husband had, for example, paid large amounts of money to the children to humiliate her, he had undermined her and had made clear he would approach the divorce aggressively. He had also failed to give her fair and adequate interim provision, despite orders being made to that effect in January 2024.
- You might also be interested in reading: Is a limited company protected from divorce?
Issue of conduct
The court must take into account several factors under s25(2) Matrimonial causes Act 1973 when deciding a fair distribution on divorce. This includes the conduct of each of the parties in circumstances that the conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it (s25(2)(g)).
The husband had also failed to comply with his duty to provide full, frank and clear financial disclosure. He did not give a complete picture of the annual amounts to which he had access and it was clear he spent far more than he had disclosed. He had told a clear lie when describing the payments to the wife during the marriage as “dividends”; and he had failed to mention a £9.5m payment due in October 2025 on his exit from one of his businesses.
Threshold not reached
It seems, at first blush, an understatement for the judge to describe the husband as “a man who has been lax with his duty of full and frank disclosure”. But while he then acknowledged that he was entitled to draw adverse inferences, he declined to do so.
He found that the wife had made generalised allegations of conduct without being properly pleaded. In December 2024 she had been directed to set out her allegations of conduct, which eventually led to a document with “a mixture of generalised complaint about non-disclosure and allegations of conduct”.
But the judge found that none of the behaviour alleged amounted to conduct within the meaning of section 25(2)(g). Instead, the allegations largely constituted generalised non-disclosure. Quite simply, the judge said she “should not have raised conduct”.
Even so, the husband’s lack of disclosure and unreliability was taken into account when the judge valued the business for the purpose of determining the claim. The husband was also penalised in costs because of his conduct.
The wife was awarded 43% of the total assets on a clean break basis and the husband was ordered to pay a third of her legal costs.
What does this mean?
The decision underscores the principle that if a party raises allegations of conduct against the other, the threshold is very high. Only if that threshold is reached, the court will consider taking it into account when determining the division of assets.
How we can help
At Osbornes Law, our specialist divorce team is experienced in navigating high-value and contentious cases with clarity and precision. We provide strategic advice tailored to your circumstances, ensuring your interests are protected throughout. If you’re facing a challenging divorce, contact us by:
- Filling in our online enquiry form; or
- Calling us on 020 7485 8811.
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