Rags-to-riches motor tycoon ousted from own company over ‘string of X-rated comments to cleaner’ loses £200m court fight

A TYCOON has lost a court battle after he was dismissed from his own company for making lewd remarks to a female cleaner. Peter Waddell – who built a £200million motor trade empire out of nothing – was accused of gross misconduct by investors in April 2024. Peter Waddell has lost his court case after claiming he was wrongly dismissed as CEO of his own company Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun The tycoon had been accused of making indecent remarks to staff Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun The allegations included telling a cleaner “I bet you’d like to suck my d***” and referring to Hindus as Hyundais, among other abusive comments. After being ousted by his own firm Big Motoring Group, the millionaire boss went on to sue Freshstream investors, claiming they had engineered the dismissal from the start. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! It followed his move to sell a third of his company to the private equity firm for £72million back in 2022, enabling him to spend less time at the helm and more time with his family. Waddell – who spent his teens on the streets of Glasgow – continued to hold two thirds of the company value, under Peter Waddell Holdco Ltd (PWHL). Waddell claimed investors in his company had hatched a plan to oust him Credit: Arthur Edwards / The Sun The millionaire says the legal battle has cost him £20million Credit: Champion News Service The deal with Freshstreams included a “call option”, allowing the investors to buy another third of the business with executive control for an additional £72million. Waddell – whose £23.5m Grade I listed mansion in Kent was put on the market last year – claimed Freshstream had orchestrated his dismissal as CEO from the firm. He added that the investors had tried to “strip value” from the business and were “unfairly prejudicial”. After a lengthy 28-day High Court trial – followed by three months of deliberation – Mr Justice Marcus Smith ruled that the dismissal was not unfair on July 30. Most read in The Sun The judge – who described Waddell’s behaviour at work as “deeply unattractive” – said he was guilty of a string of incidents, the most serious including his vulgar remarks to the cleaner. However, he conceded that unfair prejudice had been at play and that had Waddell been given a warning, he would have changed his behaviour. “I consider that Mr Waddell was able to control his behaviour, if incentivised to do so,” he said. He added that it was “difficult to quantify” the extent of his prejudice, but that it was clear that over a period of two years, the firm was run extremely badly. His barrister Alan Gourgey KC told the court in his written submission that the investors leaned on its contractual “call option” right to remove Peter as CEO. Alan said: “A plan was hatched to oust Mr Waddell from the business through these means. “Needless to say, all this took place behind Mr Waddell’s back. “Whilst the Big Group was hugely profitable under the management of Mr Waddell, its performance significantly deteriorated under the management of [the new chairman] and the FS-controlled board.” He went on to add that consumer complaints had soared since Freshstream’s purchase of the share and that it had performed “disastrously” since Peter’s exclusion. A spokesperson for Waddell said outside the court ruling that the tycoon was “back on the board” and intends to “take back control” of the company. In a statement, Waddell said the fight had personally cost him £20m, as well as costing the business a similar sum. Waddell worked as a taxi driver when he first moved to London – after spending his childhood in care and teen years on the street. From a base in Teynham, Kent, he went on to establish Big Motoring World – Britain’s second largest second-hand car empire, selling 60,000 motors a year. The business is now worth £500million after branching out into property and transport trade.