Edmonds ‘set to go’ with £64m case against Lloyds

Mr Edmonds announced in February that he had secured a seven figure amount to pursue his legal case against Lloyds after falling victim to a multi-million pound fraud a decade ago.

His claim centres around the scandal that involved corrupt staff at an HBOS branch in Reading which saw staff found guilty and jailed over a £245m loans scam carried out between 2003 and 2007 which destroyed several businesses.

It was revealed the crooked staff squandered the profits on high-end prostitutes and luxury holidays.

The former Deal or No Deal presenter is now pursuing the banking giant over losses he claims he suffered when his former business Unique Group was a victim of the affair.

HBOS was subsequently bought by Lloyds.

Mr Edmonds confirmed he had secured the funds from specialist litigation funder Therium to bankroll his case in a development that he said was “massively significant” for him and other victims.

Therium, which helps fund lawsuits and then takes a portion of the damages if successful, is also behind a class action lawsuit against car giant Volkswagen over the emissions scandal.

Jonathan Coad, solicitor for Mr Edmonds, said: “We will be filing papers to get Noel’s claim under way in late September in the Commercial Court.

“We’ve been putting in the most enormous amount of preparatory work, and gathering a significant amount of new information.

“We also have secured significant new witnesses.

A spokesman for the lender said: “Lloyds Banking Group made determined efforts to reach a consensual resolution with Mr Edmonds through mediation in late 2017, but this was not possible.

“We are still waiting for Mr Edmonds to file his legal claim. It remains inappropriate to comment other than to say that, if he does file his claim, it will be contested.”