Shareholders fight on after Northern Rock blow

Feb 14 2009 by William Green, The Journal

FORMER Northern Rock shareholders last night vowed to fight on for “fair” compensation after losing a High Court battle with ministers.

The court dismissed claims the Government broke human rights legislation by “fixing” the bank’s valuation after nationalisation, so denying reasonable compensation for former shareholders.

The case was brought by two major investors, SRM Global and RAB Capital, and around 150,000 private shareholders who held as much as 25% of the company’s shares.

The private shareholders, including former and existing Northern Rock employees, were backed by the UK Shareholders Association.

But they were granted permission to appeal by the High Court, which sympathised with small shareholders, and one North East campaigner immediately pledged to battle on even to the European courts.

Dennis Grainger, from Cramlington in Northumberland, said the small shareholders would be taking the case to the Court of Appeal later in the year.

The 62-year-old, who lost £114,000 when the Rock was nationalised, said: “We are going to fight this because we know we are going to win it.

“If we don’t we will fight all the way to the House of Lords and beyond that eventually to the Europe Court in Strasbourg.”

Mr Grainger also said many of the people he represented had lost shares worth either £6,000 or £12,000 nest eggs set aside from Northern Rock’s d-mutualisation a decade ago.