Clive Joy-Morancho – a 56-year-old businessman – has won a legal battle with his estranged wife regarding the ownership of a collection of 35 classic cars estimated to be worth almost £20 million.
Following the breakdown of the marriage, which lasted for five years, Ms Nichola Joy, 48, argued that Mr Joy-Morancho’s car collection should be taken into account and given to her as part of the divorce settlement.
However, the businessman stated that the cars – including a 1928 Bentley and a Ferrari worth over £5 million – were owned by a company he was associated with and not by him as an individual.
Ms Joy first began divorce proceedings after she made domestic violence allegations, and she made it clear that she wanted a lump sum of £27 million from the £54 million fund enjoyed by each party during their marriage.
At an earlier hearing in 2014, the presiding Judge made an order to block Mr Joy-Morancho from “disposing of or dealing with” the 1928 Bentley racer he purchased for £400,000 in 2009, because it was owned by him and not by the company that owned the other vehicles.
The Judge also said he would have to decide whether or not Mr Joy-Morancho was telling the truth when he stated that Ms Joy’s maintenance and divorce pay-out demands were pushing him to the brink of financial ruin.
However, at a ruling in London’s High Court (family law division) last week, Sir Peter Singer passed judgement in favour of Mr Joy-Morancho.
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