The TV and radio star Noel Edmonds, who is expected to join ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here jungle camp this week, is also likely to fire the starting gun on a £60m lawsuit against Lloyds Bank.
The Deal or No Deal star has also pledged to use a portion of any gains from the pending lawsuit to fund a charity for banking victims.
Edmonds’ lawyers are expected to serve Lloyds Bank with a pre-case letter this Wednesday, although the formal claim may not be filed until early December.
Lloyds Bank said: “We are still waiting for Mr Edmonds to file his legal claim. If he does file his claim, it will be contested.”
Edmonds is expected to seek about £60m in damages over claims that his firm, Unique Group, was pushed into failure by fraudsters at the Reading branch of HBOS, which Lloyds acquired at the height of the financial crisis.
HBOS Reading bankers have since been jailed over the £245m loans scam in which financiers spent the cash on prostitutes and holidays.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “We continue to make good progress compensating the approximately 70 customers impacted by the fraud at the HBOS Impaired Assets office based in Reading. We have now provided outcomes to more than 95% of customers in the review and more than 90% of these offers have been accepted.”
The bank has set aside £100m to compensate HBOS Reading victims. It said this year it had “sought to reach a resolution with Mr Edmonds through mediation … but this was not possible.”
Edmonds said: “I think the chances of a negotiated settlement are very, very slim, and I suspect that their very expensive lawyers will try and drag this out now for the next couple of years. But I’m up to it and I know that we are going to win in court. I have the damning evidence.”
He added that he wants to help people navigate the litigation options and financial support systems that could help bolster their cases. The charity won’t provide direct funding for lawsuits itself, but will aim to offer “intelligence and contacts”.
“This will be a one-stop shop for those who believe they are victims of banking criminality and we will help them to process and progress their claim,” he said.
Edmonds told the Guardian he has already lodged an application with the Charity Commission to register his White Horse Trust – a reference to Lloyds, which is known as the Black Horse bank.
The Noel’s House Party star has been laying the groundwork for his legal case for more than a year and a half. “Over this period I have learned a huge amount about the way in which the banking system operates, how they deal with people who have legitimate complaints,” he said.
“I want to pass on that knowledge to other people so that they know the best lawyers, the best solicitors, the best media to talk to, and the best way in which they can formulate their claim so that it is more likely to be resolved.”
Edmonds is aware of questions surrounding delays to his lawsuit, but said new information has now been gathered from individuals including the convicted HBOS Reading banker Michael Bancroft, who is serving 10 years in prison.
“I’m not saying that I’m anything other than aghast at what Bancroft did to people, but he does seem very anxious now to make up for it. And he provided some very important information which then delayed our submission.”
The TV star added: “When my case is settled I’m not going to ride off into the sunset and forget about this. It’s my determination that I can make life easier, simpler for other people.”
