Exclusive: Brothers in court over Edwardian hotels empire

By Sarwar Alam

ONE of Britain’s leading hoteliers is being sued by his younger brother for a share of his multi-billion pound hotel empire.

Jasminder Singh, 66, chairman and CEO of the Edwardian Group, which runs the MayFair hotel in central London, has been taken to court by his younger sibling, Herinder, 50.

Singh’s Edwardian Group owns 13 luxury hotels, with properties in central London. Work on a new hotel is underway at Leicester Square and it is set to open in 2020.

His family wealth has been estimated to be £1.5billion in the 2017 Asian Rich List, published by Eastern Eye.

At a hearing in court last week, Herinder Singh claimed that he was entitled to half the family fortune under Hindu law.

The 50-year-old told the Chancery Division of the high court, that he was “maligned and put down” by his older brother, Jasminder, adding that he “deserved” an equal portion of what he said was a “joint-family” business.

In court, the younger brother also acknowledged he used expletives at a board meeting, covertly recorded discussions at a family meeting aimed at a settlement agreement and was embarrassed by and regretted his behaviour.

At a hearing last week, the central London court heard that it was Jasminder Singh who was the “sole driving force” behind the Radisson Blue Edwardian hotels empire and there was no understanding or agreement over a split of the so-called “joint-family” business.

Ian Croxford QC, representing Jasminder Singh, told the court: “He (Jasminder) has entirely built the Edwardian Group. The company already had a net worth of £60 million in 1986 when you Mr Singh (Herinder) were still completing your education (Herinder was at university at the time).”

Croxford added: “And when the company was in deep trouble in the early 1990s, Jasminder was the only person the banks wanted to deal; they didn’t care if the rest of the family were involved.”

Jasminder Singh started his business career supporting his late father, Bal Mohinder Singh, run a post office in north London. After he qualified as an accountant, Jasminder Singh moved into the hotels business and founded the Edwardian Hotels in 1977.

His first acquisition was a rundown B&B in Kensington, which he refurbished and sold for a profit. He then went on to acquire several hotels in prime locations, including the Vanderbilt and the Savoy Court.

Herinder Singh told the court he saw the company as a “family business” and that he believed he was being was “groomed to take over in a senior role”.

He added: “The understanding was that I would take over. I assumed I would be involved as CEO. It was inferred, an understanding within the family.”

A qualified chartered accountant, Herinder described the relation with his older brother, saying “Jasminder was like a father to me, my mentor, and the person that I wanted to be like.

“Jasminder pushed me to do well because he would say to me that you need these skills to take the company forward.”

He said: “Jasminder has been the driving force behind the company since its inception. We totally trusted him to look after the family business. We never thought of it as this is yours and this is mine.

“Jasminder had a responsibility to the family as the custodian of the family business. We are a joint Indian family. We were all living in the same house. He had overall control of the business… looked after it in the best interests of the family. He was the head of the family. But there was an understanding that when I came of age, I would help him with the business. We would do it together. Dad wanted us to work together, build the company together.

Croxford said: “It was utterly preposterous to claim that a dominant CEO (Jasminder) who had built the company was going to stepdown or have a 50-50 share with junior member of the finance department who had not proven he was capable.”

The court heard that Herinder Singh had not held a senior position during his time with the Edwardian Group. He had held positions such as a junior member of the finance team and was marketing director by name, even though he had no previous experience or qualifications in marketing.

“Jasminder made no promises,” said Croxford. “He was just encouraging a student. You, Mr Singh (Herinder) assumed you were the heir to the throne. Regardless of aptitude or skill, you thought you would take over.”

Herinder Singh told the court he joined the company in 1992 and left as a director and employee in 2010.

When the Edwardian Group was restructured in 1993, Jasminder created eight trusts in Jersey, which accounted for 80 per cent of the business. Of the eight trusts, four were meant for his family and the remaining four for Herinder’s family.

Croxford said Jasminder Singh didn’t need to do this and that his decision to create the trusts was a “reflection of his generosity” and his desire for the Singh family to be financially secure and prosper “for generations to come”.

He added that “Jasminder was a generous man, but he wouldn’t let anyone have a senior role in the company unless they merited it”. The court was shown an article from an issue of The Catering Times magazine, from the 1980s, when in an interview, Jasminder Singh said: “We are not a family-run business. We are a professional company. Advancement comes based on merit.”

Croxford asked Herinder, “There is no such thing as entitlement”; Herinder replied, “Absolutely, I agree with that.”

The QC added: “Herinder had a sense of entitlement. He expected a senior position, regardless of skill. Jasminder made no promises to his younger brother that he would take over the company. This assumption came from Herinder and the parents - not from Jasminder.”

Croxford also said that had the parents expressed a desire for the brothers to split equally the business, they would have done this through a memorandum of wishes, but pointed out that they did not do this.

Further, in the mid-1990s, Jasminder Singh himself drew up a memorandum of wishes which stated that in the case of his death, his advice to the trustees was to ensure that the two key positions of finance director and CEO should be independent of the Singh family. There was no mention of Herinder Singh taking over as CEO.

Croxford pointed out that this document was seen by trustees, the parents, and Herinder Singh himself and that if he had “genuine expectation (that he would be CEO), he would’ve piped up (then)”.

In 1999, Herinder Singh wanted out of the company and pushed for a demerger. He requested details of what his share of the four Jersey trusts was worth (that Jasminder Singh had set up in the 1993 restructure). At the time it was revealed that Herinder Singh was entitled to 22 per cent of the company’s 80 per cent worth that were placed in shareholdings.

In the witness box, Herinder Singh said he was “very disappointed” when he found that his four trusts equated to a 22 per cent share.

However, in a letter he sent to Jasminder Singh’s legal team at the time, Herinder Singh said he was “happy” and thanked his older brother for his “generosity and making the process simple and painless”.

Herinder Singh told the court that he agreed to the 1999 settlement as he wanted to fulfil his parents’ wishes and “reconcile” with his brother and “move forward”.

In January 2006, Herinder Singh sent a letter to Jasminder Singh stating that their relationship “was over and beyond repair” and that he no longer wanted to work for the company. The court heard that two months earlier a family meeting had precipitated the breakdown of the relationship.

Herinder Singh covertly recorded a family meeting in Jasminder Singh’s office when the brothers and the parents gathered for a “without prejudice” meeting which was intended to be a family settlement and agreement to parting of ways.

The court heard that Herinder Singh got a junior member of staff to buy the recording equipment from Harrods in London and that another junior member of staff showed him how to use it.

Herinder Singh claimed he did it as previous family meetings hadn’t “gone well” and people had “no recollection” of what had taken place in meetings.

However, he admitted in court that “in hindsight it wasn’t appropriate or the right thing to do”.

He said: “I wish I hadn’t used the staff. It wasn’t appropriate.

“I did it for minutes for myself. Discuss with my lawyers and family afterwards. In hindsight, what I should have done was told everyone.”

Herinder Singh destroyed the recording after Jasminder Singh said he would call the police.

Croxford claimed that this was “typical” of Herinder Singh’s behaviour at work and that he was known for his “rude, aggressive and bullying behaviour”.

The court also heard about an incident when Herinder Singh entered his office to find his chair had been removed and the carpet floor was damp. He showed his upset by kicking the chair, shouting expletives and taking off his shirt. On another occasion he got angry at an operating board meeting and started using expletives and a meeting had to be held to discuss his behaviour.

Herinder Singh acknowledged his behaviour, saying: “Your honour, I used expletives. Things got heated on occasions in meetings and people used expletives. That was the culture within the company. It wasn’t uncommon. But it’s not how I should have behaved. I am embarrassed by it. It is something I am not proud of. It was unacceptable.

“I didn’t take my shirt off, I was making a point saying ‘you have taken everything, do you want the shirt off my back?’’

He added: “I was admired and respected in the company. Even now I bump into Edwardian staff and they say how much they miss me and want to work for me again.”

The hearing continues.