Later, JDW paid £400,000 for the freehold, leaving Paul Ferrari with a £245,000 profit. Mr Justice Peter Smith found a freehold was bought for just £150,000 by Paul Ferrari, Braun's first employer at Ferrari Howe in Harrow, behind JDW's back, thanks to Braun. The judge found a property deal in Folkestone the most telling piece of dishonesty by Christian Braun. His only interest appears to be a half-share in the matrimonial home, which may be worth £750,000 in the current market, and is subject to a claim by his wife in divorce proceedings.' 'Christian Braun has sworn an affadavit of means, which apart from money owed to him by companies he says can't pay him. Unfortunately, though, the judge notes Braun seems to have few assets, despite years of big sums earned from JDW. 'It stemmed from the repeated destruction of his evidence in cross-examination,' he says. But this didn't stem from the length of his testimony. He notes Braun found his 15 days in the witness box 'an ordeal'. Of Christian Braun, the judge is scathing. 'The reality is that Van de Berg was Christian Braun's ship and Richard Harvey and George Aldridge were passengers,' he says. Mr Justice Peter Smith concluded that Van De Berg was essentially Christian Braun, and elevating colleagues Richard Harvey and George Alridge to directorships was little more than a 'sop' or a 'status symbol'. During the heyday of JDW expansion, the company was on a retainer of as much as £2m a year. Christian Braun set up his company in 1989 and began working for JDW when he was 21 and Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin was 31. Van de Berg received more than £14,000,000 in fees in the time it worked for JD Wetherspoon.

Chris de berg