- Sophie Perhar claims David Slinger tried to 'suffocate and kill' her business
A female entrepreneur has claimed that a “vindictive” finance director tried to “destroy” her bamboo toothbrush company after she complained of “inappropriate behavior”.
Sophie Perhar, 46, said David Slinger, 71, co-director of corporate finance company Synergy In Trade, threatened to “suffocate and destroy” her business after a “massive falling out”. “There was an ulterior motive'' for summoning the administrator, he said.
Mrs Perhar had arranged to borrow £350,000 from Synergy for her business, Sustainable Bathroom Company Limited, in April 2022 after securing a lucrative contract to supply products to Aldi. Ta.
But in June last year, after a mistake caused a payment from Aldi to be deposited into the wrong bank account, Synergy demanded repayment from Aldi, and just three hours later the company was placed into administration.
Mr Parhar is now in Leicestershire, claiming Mr Slinger was 'determined to destroy' her company after he 'went to a female business partner and complained about his inappropriate behavior'. The company is suing Synergy In Trade, Inc., where it is headquartered, for damages.
Mr Slinger “vehemently disputes” the allegations against him and claims his company's funds amount to around £375,000 and are “spending”.
He alleges that Mrs Perhar breached the company's loan agreement by using money that was supposed to go to Synergy to pay off other debts.
London's High Court ruled that Mrs Parhar (her husband Simon Parhar is a top corporate lawyer) launched the Sustainable Bathroom Company in January 2019 as a wholesaler of eco-friendly bathroom products she had developed. The court heard that.
By early 2022, the company had developed a toothbrush to the point where it signed a supply deal with German supermarket chain Aldi.
In April, Synergy agreed to loan the company up to £350,000 over three years to cover manufacturing costs in exchange for a 30% share in profits.
The toothbrushes were manufactured in China and supplied to Aldi, and payments from the retailer were to be transferred to an account controlled by Synergy to be repaid to the financial company.
However, the bank account details provided to Ms Aldi were incorrect and the payments of more than €500,000 were instead sent to another business account controlled by Mrs Perhar.
Mrs Pelhar then continued to pay around €329,644 from that account to repay other “urgent” debts that the court heard.
Then, on June 5 last year, she was charged with loan repayments and interest for breaching the terms of the company's loan agreement.
And just three hours later, Mr Slinger acted as a secured creditor and placed Sustainable Bathroom Company Limited into administration.
Ms. Perhar is currently suing, alleging that Synergy “authorized” her to make the payments rather than transfer the funds to the lender.
She told Judge Michael Green that she believed Synergy had no legal right to put the company into administration and that Mr Slinger had appointed administrators for “vindictive” and “unreasonable” reasons. . The claim, lawyer James Morgan KC told the judge, is 'hotly contested'.
She told the judge that the judge was “very angry” with her after she “went to a female business partner and complained about his inappropriate behavior.” Ta.
Although details of the alleged conduct have not yet been made public, she told the judge that Mr. Slinger “inappropriately made inquiries about my personal life while at the same time making implicit threats that he might ruin my business.” We were talking,” he said.
Mrs Perhar said a “disturbing situation” then developed before Mr Slinger's female business partner Cassandra McAlpine, 61, intervened.
'[Cassandra] “I don't have to work with David anymore. I'm sorry, but I'm done with him,” he said.
“Cassandra said, “I want to make things right, but I feel like things are terrible.''
“David was really angry. He was very aggressive. I was worried that he was still behind my back, but I was told not to worry. Cassandra said, 'We girls… Something will work out,” he said.
“There was no question about taking on debt, until the doorbell rang,” she said, adding that the move had “a devastating impact on my personal integrity and my family's finances.” added.
“His motive was to cause me as much financial ruin as possible because I went to his female business partner and complained about his behavior,” she claimed.
“I can't believe he was so incredibly vindictive. It wasn't like a banking relationship, it was a partnership. It was a friendship, in a way. That's what makes it all so sad.
“Cassandra and I had already gotten over it. I 100% thought they weren't going to make a move. That wasn't the case at all.
“Why is it right to put it into administration when it does business and has contracts with international supermarkets and has a promising future?'' The company is not bankrupt. The company is making a profit.
“Synergy issued the invoice. They put the wrong bank details on it. That was one of the big triggers of this, and it's not my fault.”
Mrs. Perhar argued in her filing that the executive order was “unlawful,” adding that “the facts show no breach of trust.”
“The nature of the business was to deal with major supermarkets and on the day the company went into administration Mr Slinger knew that the business would be immediately suffocated.
“Mr. Slinger's improper motive was to cause Mrs. Perhar as much hardship and distress by being threatened with bankruptcy.”
A full trial on Ms Perhar's claims is expected to take place later this year, but the case went to court last week after she appealed a preliminary finding made by a judge last August.
The judge ruled that she had breached the terms of her loan agreement with Synergy.
Mr Morgan insisted the sentence should be upheld and told the judge he did not intend to fully address his personal claims against Mr Slinger until trial.
Dissenting from the appeal, he said: “The judge was right to conclude that Sustainable Bathroom Company Limited had committed breaches of trust and that there was no waiver by Synergy of those breaches of trust.” Stated.
“Unless Synergy received a full refund, the amounts actually expended on behalf of the company were out-of-pocket,” he continued.
He said payments from accounts controlled by Mrs Perhar were made “without authorization”.
However, Mrs Justice Green allowed Mrs Perhar's appeal and overturned the lower judge's finding of violation.
He said the hearing would determine whether Synergy was eligible to have an administrator appointed.
“Mr. Slinger has unilaterally decided to put the company into administration,” he added, referring to the widespread controversy and allegations surrounding Mr. Slinger. She claims that Mrs. Perhar decided to destroy her with her ulterior motive.
“Mrs. Parhar maintained a good working relationship with Mr. McAlpine even after her big fight with Mr. Slinger, but he accused Mrs. Parhar of inappropriate behavior in fairly graphic terms. Mr. Slinger vehemently criticized this. I am objecting.
Contemporaneous emails allege inappropriate behavior.
“The trial will involve a broader assessment of my client's motives for putting the company into administration,” he told Morgan.
Mrs Perhar told the judge that she had lost her contract with Aldi because of the regime, but had set up a new company and secured a contract to supply toothbrushes to Boots.
Administration of The Sustainable Bathroom Company Ltd is suspended pending a full trial.
