The millionaire founder of Salford-based fast fashion brand In The Style has won his High Court battle against a rival who claimed he stole his idea.
Businessman Paul Clements had sued Adam Frisby after claiming the name and concept of the company had come from him.
Mr Frisby, who serves as the firm's interim CEO, founded In The Style in his bedroom in 2013. The company has worked with celebrities including Dame Deborah James with her charity clothing line, as well as Love Island star Olivia Attwood, Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Crosby, and The Only Way Is Essex’s Lauren Pope.
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In December 2020, Mr Frisby was sued by businessman Paul Clements, who claimed the company owner had taken his plan for the online fashion brand, including its name.
Mr Clements alleged at the High Court in Manchester that he had asked Mr Frisby to test and start his business plan, but that Mr Frisby said it had no future before developing the idea himself.
However, in a ruling on Thursday, Judge Mark Cawson KC rejected Mr Clements’s claim and found he had only been considered as a potential investor in Mr Frisby’s idea.
Judge Cawson said: "I have come to the firm view that the narrative advanced by Mr Frisby is the true narrative and that the narrative advanced by Mr Clements is a false one."
Following the judgement, Mr Frisby said: "After what has been the most difficult and unimaginable few months of my life, I am so pleased and relieved that today the judge and the high court have rightly ruled in my favour."
He added: "I cannot begin to tell you how gut-wrenching this process has been over the last 18 months.
“I have worked tirelessly over the last 10 years alongside the ITS team, our influencer partners, and our customers, whose fantastic support has helped to make In the Style the incredible brand it is today.
"I’d like to thank everyone for their kind messages and words in recent weeks. It has meant a lot to me throughout this incredibly difficult period."
Following a five-day trial in the High Court, in Manchester, all of Clements’ claims were dismissed. The full judgement can be read here.
TLT advised Adam Frisby and instructed leading counsel Giles Maynard-Connor KC and junior Stephen Connolly, of Exchange Chambers, Manchester.
Julien Luke, partner at TLT, added: "I am delighted with the judgment and this victory for Adam. His is a real success story; having started the business of In The Style in his bedroom and then working tirelessly to develop and grow it such that the business floated in 2021.
"The judgment vindicates Adam and his stance that he would not be intimidated into making payment in the face of this false claim. I am proud to have led the TLT team in order to achieve this fantastic result for our client."
In response, Mr Clements said: "I am extremely disappointed by the judgement, having spent two years litigating (and) incurred a substantial six-figure sum on legal fees."
He added: "I will now consider my options and whether to appeal the judgement".
At a trial in January, Mr Clements alleged all the essential details of the business, including the identity of potential suppliers, were done by him, and Mr Frisby had simply put his plan into place.
However, Mr Frisby said he and early collaborator Jessica Devine had asked Mr Clements to consider investing £10,000 in the business, but he was not interested and Mr Frisby did not speak to him again.
Finding in favour of Mr Frisby, Judge Cawson said: "The parties’ respective narratives are so fundamentally different that it is difficult to conclude otherwise that one of them is now lying and deliberately giving false evidence.”
The court also heard that when Mr Frisby and Mrs Devine went to register a company under the name In The Style Ltd, they were told a company had already been incorporated under that name, later found to have been done on Mr Clements’s instructions.
The judge said this was "nothing more than something of a try on in an attempt in some way to muscle in on the business that Mrs Devine and Mr Frisby had mentioned to him".
Judge Cawson added: "I find that the idea behind In The Style and its business concerning collaboration with celebrities involved in reality TV in the marketing, through a website and social media, of fast-fashion to younger-end women was that of Mr Frisby and Mrs Devine, and that Mr Clements played no part therein."
The judge also found it was "likely" that Mr Clements’s decision to bring the claim in December 2020 was motivated by the news the company was set to float on the stock market – a move which in March 2021 valued the brand at more than £105m.
The business floated in 2021 and Mr Clements asserted that Mr Frisby should account to him for what was realised upon the floatation; and put that figure at £125m.
However, in dismissing the proceedings, the judge found that Mr Clements played no part in the idea or development of In The Style and concluded it "likely" that In The Style’s stock-market flotation in 2020 "formed the motivation" for Mr Clements asserting a claim against Mr Frisby.
The judgement comes after In The Style recently warned it will lose more than previously expected during its current financial year.
The company revealed it is now forecasting its full-year adjusted EBITDA loss will be between £4.25m and £4.75m. The AIM-listed company added it now also expects its revenue to be around £46m.
In the 12 months to the end of March 2022, In the Style reported a revenue of £57.3m, up from £33.7m, and pre-tax losses of £1.5m compared to a profit of £125,000 in the prior year.
In The Style said its revenue drop reflected "market-wide cost-of-living pressures on consumer demand, higher levels of markdowns and a reduction in wholesale demand".
It added that it will "continue to focus on cash management and liquidity".
The trading update came after the company appointed Lincoln International to lead a strategic review which could lead to a full or part sale of the business.
In The Style uses influencers such as Stacey Solomon and Gemma Atkinson to promote its products.
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