Arthur J Gallagher claims loan in Ardonagh poaching case ‘highly irregular’

Claims of an allegedly “highly irregular” loan have emerged during the poaching case brought by Arthur J Gallagher (AJG) against the Ardonagh group, which has prompted references to “industrial espionage” from the claimants.

AJG claimed defendant Peter Burton, a former AJG employee, received a £625,000 loan from “a company associated with the Ardonagh Group”, which the claimants alleged was “was directly or indirectly arranged by Ross [David Ross, CEO of Ardonagh].”

In court Simon Matson, the then CEO of Alesco [part of AJG], called the loan received by Burton in May 2017 before he had signed up with Bishopsgate “highly irregular”.

He told the court: “We have mandatory training, as does anyone in the market that I’m aware of, around bribery, corruption and this is smack in the middle of that.

“When I first heard about, I felt so strongly I referred to it as industrial espionage. It makes no sense. It is the first time in my 30 years I have heard of this.”

However, the defendants representation told the court that “the loan documentation made clear that Burton could and should not expect any offer of employment”.

But Matson responded: “Again, as I have looked at the loan document, it makes reference to National Insurance and employer’s contribution, so there is a link to employment”, adding that the assurance that the loan was not linked to an offer of employment was “juxtaposed” to the information he had highlighted.

The loan was signed by an employee of Highbridge, and Matson was asked to confirm that he knew that Burton was in discussions with numerous prospective employers after this time.

But, referring to the potential employment discussions, Matson said: “Whether that was real discussion or smokescreen that is a matter of opinion.”

The claimants argued that by accepting the loan, Burton was then “in a position where his own interests and those of his employer were in conflict”.

On day five of the case hearing, Matson was asked if AJG was pursuing this claim “to disrupt Bishopsgate” and “to send a message to David Ross and to other competitors that they shouldn’t recruit from your ranks?”.

Matson responded: “No, we are pursuing this claim to right a wrong.

“I think the message we want to convey is quite different. When we recruit people the first thing we tell them, the very first thing - and I have recruited hundreds of people into Alesco - is the one thing we want you to do is respect your contract, to the point we hand them a page of things we expect them to adhere to.

“If people are outside of that, that is what we are seeking to remedy.”

Asked if the company wanted to send a message that “they are messing with the wrong boys”, in reference to an internal email from Matson revealed earlier in the case, Matson laughed and said: “Sorry to laugh. That was a joke between myself and a colleague , ripping off some Aon words, as I said the other day.”

The case continues at the Royal Court in London.