Martin Dawes claims he paid Treasure & Sons £1m

Millionaire entrepreneur Martin Dawes has turned to the High Court in the latest move in his long running dispute with builders.

Dawes, 64, is asking the High Court in London to rule that he has paid a judgment debt of more than £1m after a court order by Mr Justice Akenhead.

He owed the money to builders Treasure and Son for extensive refurbishment and restoration work at his home, Dinmore Manor in Herefordshire.

Dawes, whose fortune is estimated at £110m, paid the builders £14m as part of his plans to build a facility for showjumping horses at the historic manor.

But he and the builders disagreed over the final million, and after an adjudicator was called in to decide the dispute, Dawes sued over the adjudication.

Part of his case was that the adjudication was not valid as the adjudicator had not signed his award, but his legal action was thrown out, and he was ordered to pay £1,239,310.12 by Mr Justice Akenhead on 25 October last year.

Now, in the latest twist in the dispute, Dawes has issued a writ against Ludlow based Treasure and Son, asking for a ruling that he has paid the money he was ordered to. He paid the money on 7 November 2007 by telegraphic transfer into the builders’ account, he says,

His solicitors notified the builders contract and construction consultants of their intention to pay the money directly into Treasure and Son’s account, and they did not raise any objection to that notification, he claims.

Dawes made his fortune from television and video rental before moving into the mobile phone market, and building up his company into one of the largest airtime providers in the UK before selling his business to O2.