Cashbox facing huge costs bill over Hanco case

A court has ordered ATM group Cashbox, together with its founder Carl Thomas, to pay significant costs to Thomas' former employer Hanco in respect of an ongoing legal dispute between the two firms.

After several court hearings a judge last week ordered that the company and Thomas pay £150,000 to Hanco "on account of the costs which have been ordered to be paid by them no later than 4 April 2007".

Thomas left Hanco, which is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, in 2003 to set up his own cash machine business. But Hanco accused him of poaching some of their clients, including a lucrative contract with off-licence chain Threshers.

Thomas was meanwhile suspended as chief executive following concerns over a series of share dealings around the time Cashbox announced in early February that it had been approached by parties who might make an offer for the whole group.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange last week Cashbox said it and Thomas' position "remained that Hanco would not be entitled to anything other than nominal recovery because i) Hanco would not have secured Phase II of the Threshers contract in any event; and ii) Phase II of the Threshers contract was not profitable for [the group]".

The company was refused permission to appeal against the judgement but has said it intends to renew its application to a High Court judge. If this is granted and an appeal is successful, Cashbox will apply to have the costs orders set aside.

According to a report in yesterday's Sunday Times, the court ruled that Thomas' behaviour was "deceitful and wrong", and Hanco could put in compensation claims for around £2m.

Last September Cashbox announced pre-exceptional losses for the year to June 30 of £2.4m, on sales of £3.2m.