10:40 am, July 28, 2025
Former Big Motoring World boss Peter Waddell has found himself back in the headlines as his ongoing legal battles took a fresh turn last week.
Waddell was ousted from the company he founded in April of last year, following multiple complaints relating to his conduct at work.
The 59-year-old has continued to strenuously deny any wrongdoing and has since embarked on an increasingly bitter legal battle against Big Motoring World’s current bosses – investment group Freshstream.
The saga has now taken another twist after reports emerged in the Guardian over the weekend that Freshstream has made an offer to settle a second claim from Waddell.
The case centres around the founder’s claim that he was forced to forfeit a €1.5m (£1.3m) investment into one of Freshstream funds because the firm viewed him as a ‘nuisance’.
Waddell also claims that the private equity group was ‘motivated by the primary desire to remove [a Waddell investment company] from the fund and end the ongoing relationship’.
The matter is currently going through the courts but Freshstream has now made an offer to settle the dispute for €1.1m (£950,000).
The group says the amount is equivalent to Waddell’s net contribution after he previously received €450,000 (£390,000) from the fund.
Despite making the offer, Freshstram continues to deny any wrongdoing and insists it acted properly.
In a High Court defence filing, the group added: ‘Freshstream was entitled to exercise its discretion to forfeit [Waddell’s company’s] partnership interest in the fund when [it] failed to pay the sum due.’
No settlement has yet to be reached and both parties appear to remain on course for a High Court showdown in relation to Waddell’s dismissal.
Car Dealer spent two days in the High Court last May as Waddell unsuccessfully applied for a temporary injunction which would have seen him handed back voting and information rights as shareholder of the business, ahead of a full trial.
Since then, Waddell has also launched an unfair dismissal claim and the saga is now attracting attention in the national press.
During the previous hearing, attended by Car Dealer last year, the court was told that an internal investigation had found Waddell guilty of ‘bullying’, ‘harassment’ and ‘intimidation’.
His conduct was described in court as ‘abusive, racist, sexist, misogynistic and irrational’ with legal papers later revealing a string of further allegations.
Defence filings submitted to the High Court by a Freshstream holding company say: ‘Serious instances of racism including allegedly referring to Hindu people as [the car marque] “Hyundais”.’
‘Serious allegations of sexual harassment including allegedly … telling a female cleaner: ‘I bet you’d like to suck my d**k?’”
The papers go on to allege that Waddell called ‘senior members of the management team the “C word”,’ and suggested ‘he would “give it to them up the a**e”.’
Overall, Freshstream is said to have investigated 27 allegations, some of which Waddell denies and some of which he claims were taken out of context.
Waddell has raised multiple concerns about the investigation which resulted in his departure with his lawyers describing he process as being ‘very questionable’.
Waddell’s case is now likely to be heard in the High Court in 2026.
