FORMER ComProp chief executive Nigel Jones is claiming he was unfairly dismissed after the Sandpiper deal that purchased CI Traders. An employment tribunal between Mr Jones and ComProp, or alternatively CI Traders, began yesterday.
He says a letter dated 25 July from former CI Traders chief executive Martin Bralsford had made it clear to him that in the sale of CI Traders he would no longer be employed by the company.
‘I regarded the letter of 25 July to have terminated my contract on a date to be triggered by the date of the takeover of CI Traders, which turned out to be 3 August.
‘I took CI Traders to be my employer at the date of termination.’
But former CI Traders boss Tom Scott said that was never the case. He said he envisaged Mr Jones continuing in the role he had been performing for ComProp, which was a subsidiary of CI Traders, when he bought back a portfolio of Guernsey properties from the sale to Sandpiper for around £70m.
‘I was absolutely dependent on Nigel to run this for me,’ said Mr Scott.
‘If I knew Nigel was not coming over, I might not have been of the mind to buy these properties.’
He said the letter of 25 July outlined an issue surrounding a bonus Mr Jones was entitled to and that the employment transfers of ComProp staff would be carried out.
Advocate Elaine Gray, acting for ComProp, said the letter was never one of dismissal and that Mr Jones had been an employee of ComProp, not CI Traders.
Mr Scott said in the drawing up of the sales and purchase agreement for the Sandpiper deal and that of the employment transfers, Mr Jones had never expressed any unhappiness about the transactions. He said he was ‘absolutely flabbergasted’ when he found out Mr Jones was not moving as part of the deal.
When the pair spoke on 16 August, Mr Scott said Mr Jones had told him he wanted to continue on his own. At that point, Mr Jones had still said nothing to him to the effect that he viewed the letter of 25 July as one that was dismissing him.
‘When I found out he was going to the lawyers, I thought he was being opportunist in putting the claim in.’
ComProp finance director Stephen Down said he saw the letter Mr Jones had been sent on 25 July and was surprised at how his colleague had viewed it.
‘I was surprised that it was being taken as a letter of dismissal. I read it as a letter telling him about a bonus and from someone who was wishing him well who knew what was going on.’
Mr Jones said he had been told about the proposed sale to Sandpiper in December 2006 and up until July he claims he had made a number of requests to Mr Scott to sit down and discuss the changes that were being planned.
‘It was an issue for me moving from a corporate structure to that of a private structure.’
The tribunal continues today.
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