Caan being sued by Synergy directors

Jo Faragher

Recruitment entrepreneur and Government social mobility adviser James Caan is being sued by two of his former business associates.

Patrick Hanlon and Kieran Ryan are suing Caan’s company, Human Capital Investment Group, for around £5.5m, according to reports. Hanlon founded Synergy Group, while Ryan became chief executive of the recruitment and training company in 2009.

The company went into administration in 2011 and was looking for a buyer, and the executives claim that Caan offered to give them a stake in the new company if HCIG acquired Synergy out of administration. They claim that, at a meeting in Caan’s office in May 2011, it was agreed HCIG would acquire Synergy’s assets in return for Hanlon and Ryan each receiving a 20% stake in the new business.

However, the directors claim that HCIG refused to provide them with the promised shares after the acquisition, while the company denies that any legally binding deal was struck. Caan’s lawyers said: “The defendant negotiated the purchase of Synergy’s business and assets directly with the proposed administrator and without any assistance from the claimants.”

The case began last week in the High Court, and places further scrutiny on Caan, who was last week accused of hypocrisy for helping to further his daughters’ careers while urging other parents to encourage children to “stand on their own two feet”.

Caan is CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw, HCIG’s primary shareholder. The case continues.