9:33 am, March 17, 2026
Executives responsible for investigating misconduct by Peter Waddell all received bonuses after the Big Motoring World founder was ousted from the company, the High Court has heard.
The motor trade tycoon is currently suing Bluebell Cars – the ultimate holding company of Big Motoring World – for unfair dismissal, harassment and disability discrimination.
Yesterday (Mar 16) saw the end of the cross-examination of Waddell’s replacement as CEO, Laurence Vaughan, after almost three days in the witness box.
The court heard evidence about a series of controversial payments, with Waddell’s legal team questioning whether the rewards were linked to performance or the employees’ roles in the internal probe into the 59-year-old.
During proceedings, it was revealed that Tom Clarke and Neil Hodson – both of whom sat on the investigation committee into Waddell – received a ‘PW [Peter Waddell] bonus’ after his departure.
Vaughan himself was the final member of the investigation committee and he received a £100,000 bonus for 2024, despite profitability dropping ‘very significantly’ compared to the previous year.
The CEO defended the payments, telling the court they reflected the pressure staff were under during a turbulent period for the business.
He said that both Clarke and Hodson had been dealing with ‘a lot of aggressive behaviour and harassment’, adding: ‘These were people who were holding the business together in very difficult circumstances’.
He also insisted that Big Motoring World had been facing an ‘existential threat’, after coming close to ‘complete implosion’ amid funding pressures and mounting internal tensions related to the Waddell investigation.
In response, Waddell’s barrister, Alan Gourgey KC, suggested the bonuses were inappropriate and questioned whether they were effectively rewards for participation in the investigation – something Vaughan dismissed as ‘complete nonsense’,
Gourgey said: ‘The reason that you give Mr Hodson and Mr Clarke a bonus, I suggest, is that the PW bonus was rewarding Mr Hodson and Mr Clarke for their efforts on behalf of the investigation committee in securing for the benefit of Freshstream findings of MDE [Misconduct Disciplinary Evaluation] against Mr Waddell.’
He added: ‘You were rewarding them in circumstances where you knew that the investigation had been conducted unfairly as regards Mr Waddell and that he had not been given a fair opportunity to defend the allegations against him.’
The trial so far…
- Peter Waddell says he was victim of Big Motoring World ‘coup’ as High Court trial gets underway
- Waddell ran ‘fiefdom’ and complained about ‘too many muslims’, court hears
- Peter Waddell accused of using disabilities as a ‘fig leaf’ as High Court trial continues
- ‘I wish I’d never sold to them’: Waddell tells court of regret in selling Big Motoring World
- Peter Waddell nicknamed employee ‘Ching the P***’ because ‘his father ran a corner shop’, court hears
- Daksh Gupta held talks over becoming Big Motoring World CEO after Marshall departure
- Weekly Briefing: High Court hears there was ANOTHER bidder for Big Motoring World
- Laurence Vaughan accused of being ‘paid by two masters’ as ‘secret’ payment is revealed
- Freshstream planned leadership change at Big Motoring World months before Waddell’s exit, court hears
- Waddell kept in the dark over misconduct allegations as investigation faces scrutiny
- Court hears Big Motoring World TrustPilot score fell after Waddell exit
- Vaughan tells court he didn’t oust Waddell for CEO role because he could have ‘got any job I wanted’
- Waddell accused of interfering with witnesses in Big Motoring World misconduct investigation
Information withheld over CarShop deal
Elsewhere, talk turned to Big Motoring World’s acquisition of several CarShop sites in the summer of 2024.
The court heard that Waddell was not fully informed during negotiations, amid concerns around how he might exploit sensitive information.
Vaughan said the business feared the deal could be undermined if details were disclosed too early, meaning Waddell – Big Motoring World’s biggest shareholder – was kept ‘entirely in the dark’ about the deal.
‘We were very careful about what we shared,’ Vaughan admitted. ‘There was a real risk it would be used against the company.’
He added: ‘We were concerned the transaction could be derailed.’
Trial approaches closing stages
The cross-examination of Vaughan ended a short time into the morning session yesterday (Mar 17), when he was followed in the witness box by Clarke.
In his own evidence, Clarke admitted to leaving his previous legal role while under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which later found him guilty of ‘dishonest conduct’ for he accepting cash payments from a client and not paying them into his firm’s client account.
Clarke accepted in court that he did not disclose the SRA issue in at least one interview prior to joining Big Motoring World, but insisted he had told Waddell directly about it.
The court also heard that Clarke’s responsibilities at the used car supermarket group included governance, transactions and regulatory work.
He is expected to continue giving evidence today before a string of witnesses take to the stand for shorter stints throughout the week.
It is expected that the final witnesses will finish giving evidence on Friday before closing arguments are prepared throughout next week.
These will then be delivered on the week commencing March 30, before Justice Marcus Smith finally delivers his verdict.
The trial continues.
