We’ve instructed top law firm Mishcon de Reya to handle the claim, which is for unlawful appropriation of property, inducement of breach of contract, breach of confidence, infringement of database rights and injunctive relief.
It is not about the money, and never will be. It’s a matter of principal. I will not stand idly by and let someone attempt to take away my livelihood, and that of my family and my 168 employees.
It has taken blood, sweat and tears to build up Pimlico Plumbers from scratch to the £15m-turnover company it is today. I take very seriously any attempt to take from me the fruits of more than 30 years of hard work.
If the court finds in our favour, as I’m confident it will, then I have decided to donate a significant lump sum to the charities I worked with on the recent Secret Millionaire programme.
My solicitors, Mishcon de Reya, have also pledged to donate five per cent of their fees on the case to the three charities.
Meanwhile, I’m worried that small businesses are being dumped on by local authorities. Despite being told to pay quicker, town halls are still not managing to cough up and are instead taking almost double the ten-day target to pay invoices.
The government needs to step in. There’s no point just telling them, they need to make it happen. If my guys were consistently late for jobs, or in doing their paperwork, then they’d soon know about it from me. But this week has not been all bad.
We got to help out a lady who had been left in a right mess and with a hefty bill by a rogue plumber. She had a broken boiler. It took them three days for them to arrange an appointment with her and, in the end, they said they couldn’t sort out the problem. Our guy went over and soon sorted it out. Turns out she writes for Vogue. It’s not often that a plumbing firm gets a mention in a high-end fashion magazine! I have been out buying my first Christmas presents this week. Thought it would be nice to do something special for the guys up at the Longlane Garden Centre, who I met during my time on Secret Millionaire. Don’t want to give the game away but they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Hope that’s true of the lot up in Warrington!
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