REG - Anexo Group PLC - High Court Judgment re. Volkswagen

AnexoAnnouncement

22/12/2021 07:00

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RNS Number : 4154W  Anexo Group PLC  22 December 2021

 

 For immediate release  22 December 2021

 

Anexo Group plc

('Anexo' or the 'Group')

 

High Court Judgment re. Volkswagen

 

Anexo Group plc (AIM: ANX), the specialist integrated credit hire and legal
services provider, notes the judgment announced on 21 December 2021 in the
High Court of Justice regarding the class action against Volkswagen AG ('VW')
and its subsidiaries (the 'VW Emissions case'). The judge found against the
application by VW to strike out the class action claim against them (the
'Deceit' claim).

 

Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman of Anexo, commented:

 

"The Board is pleased that the High Court has ruled VW's attempt to strike out
the deceit element of the claims against it to be without merit. This follows
the ruling against them last year. It is now incumbent on VW to acknowledge
its responsibility in this matter and agree a settlement with all those
affected by its actions, as it has done in many other jurisdictions.

 

"We continue to investigate the pursuit of similar claims against other
manufacturers. These have the potential to be of significant value to
claimants and to the Group."

 

Background

 

A preliminary judgment was announced on 6 April 2020 in the High Court of
Justice regarding the class action against VW and its subsidiaries. Mr Justice
Waksman ruled that VW subverted key air pollution tests by using special
software to reduce emissions of nitrous oxides under test conditions. The High
Court ruling applied not only to VW cars but also to those manufactured by
Audi, SEAT and Skoda. VW was refused leave to appeal against this judgment,
but instead brought an action to have a significant element of the class
action struck out. This has now been dismissed by Mr Justice Waksman.

 

A specialist team within the Group's legal services division, Bond Turner, is
acting on behalf of a number of individuals who have registered their
intention to pursue a claim against VW. A number of these clients have been
acquired through their status as past customers of the Group and others have
contacted Bond Turner following a marketing campaign which was predominantly
conducted through social media channels. The total number of claims currently
being handled by Bond Turner stands at around 15,000. Some of the costs
involved in the acquisition of claimants have been covered by specialist
litigation funding.

 

VW has previously been involved in and settled a number of legal actions
concerning emissions in various jurisdictions globally and the quantum of
damages awarded has varied widely. In the US, individual settlements included
a number of options and the compensation packages were set at various levels
depending on the age and model of vehicle involved, with the sums ranging from
US$5,100 (£4,150) to over US$40,000 (£32,520). In Germany, there was a
similar range of options depending on the age and model of the vehicle
involved, and the sums ranged from €1,350 to €6,257 (£1,190 to £5,540).
In Australia, the settlement sums varied from AU$1,589 to AU$6,554 (£800 to
£3,290).(1)

 

In the event of a settlement being agreed, Bond Turner would be entitled to
claim a percentage of any damages awarded to each of its clients, as well as
legal costs. Given the wide range of previous settlement levels, the Board
considers that it would be inappropriate to give any guidance on the potential
value of individual claims.

 

The Board continues to believe that, in the event of a settlement, the
percentage of potential damages and associated costs accruing to Anexo, after
deducting the repayment costs of litigation finance, would have a
significant positive impact on the Group's expectations for profits and cash
flow for the relevant accounting period. There is no certainty that a
settlement in favour of Bond Turner's clients will be reached, nor is there
any guarantee that such a settlement would include financial compensation.

 

The Board continues to monitor the situation and will make further
announcements as and when appropriate.

 

(1 )Exchange rate as at the date of settlement

 

( )

 

- Ends -

 

 

For further enquiries:

 Anexo Group plc                                    +44 (0) 151 227 3008

                                                    www.anexo-group.com (http://www.anexo-group.com)
 Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman

 Mark Bringloe, Chief Financial Officer

 Nick Dashwood Brown, Head of Investor Relations

 Arden Partners plc

 (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
 John Llewellyn-Lloyd / Louisa Waddell (Corporate)  +44 (0) 20 7614 5900

 Tim Dainton (Equity Sales)                         www.arden-partners.co.uk (http://www.arden-partners.co.uk)

 Panmure Gordon

 (Joint Broker)                                                              +44 (0) 20 7886 2500

 Ed Walsh/Dominic Morley                            www.panmure.com

Notes to Editors:

 

Anexo is a specialist integrated credit hire and legal services provider. The
Group has created a unique business model by combining a direct capture Credit
Hire business with a wholly owned Legal Services firm. The integrated business
targets the impecunious not at fault motorist, referring to those who do not
have the financial means or access to a replacement vehicle.

 

Through its dedicated Credit Hire sales team and network of over 1,100 active
introducers around the UK, Anexo provides customers with an end-to-end service
including the provision of Credit Hire vehicles, assistance with repair and
recovery, and claims management services. The Group's Legal Services division,
Bond Turner, provides the legal support to maximise the recovery of costs
through settlement or court action as well as the processing of any associated
personal injury claim.

 

The Group was admitted to trading on AIM in June 2018 with the ticker ANX.

 

For additional information please visit: www.anexo-group.com
(http://www.anexo-group.com) . To subscribe to our investor alert service and
receive all press releases, financial results and other key shareholder
messages as soon as they become available, please visit:
https://www.anexo-group.com/content/investors/alert.asp
(https://www.anexo-group.com/content/investors/alert.asp) .

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