The secret profit share scheme which undermined a widow's warranties
The acquisition of a chemicals business in 2019 has spawned nearly seven years of litigation — and the latest High Court ruling means there is still more to come
When Jean Blundell signed the share purchase agreement selling Centec International to BIP Chemical Holdings for £1.4m in March 2019, it was supposed to bring an end to a difficult chapter.
Her husband John — a chemist and serial entrepreneur who had founded the Cheshire-based solvent recycling business in 1991 — had died in June 2017, leaving her as sole owner of a company she had never really run.
The deal made obvious sense. BIP, led by Mike Bennett, was also a chemicals recycler based on a neighbouring site in Middlewich. The two businesses were, in Bennett’s words, “complementary” and “co-located”. The merger promised to create one of the largest solvent recycling facilities in Europe and the jobs of Centec’s workforce was secured.
“My late husband and I started the business from scratch over 28 years ago,” Mrs Blundell said at the time. “I’m thrilled that all the work that has gone into building the organisation is now being entrusted to BIP Organics, who I’m confident will take the company to the next level of growth.”
Within a year, BIP was suing her for breach of warranty and a High Court ruling has just extended legal proceedings into its seventh year…
