Macdonald Hotels trial: boss was called ‘the enemy’, court hears

The boss of a luxury hotel chain that was a client of Bank of Scotland was referred to as the “enemy” by a director appointed to the business by the lender’s subsidiary, it has been claimed in a High Court trial over allegations the bank forced a sale of the company’s assets. Macdonald Hotels Limited is suing the lender, which was previously part of HBOS but since 2009 has been owned by Lloyds Banking Group, for multimillion-pound damages over claims that it was pressured by the bank to cut its debts by selling off properties, including the famous Randolph Hotel in Oxford. Bank of Scotland denies the allegations, which it has called “serious but baseless”.

Part of the dispute centres on Bank of Scotland’s position.