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Following significant losses made during his activist campaign at FirstGroup, British entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz is now being sued by prominent spread-betting platform Spreadex for $2 million. Iranian-born Tchenguiz had carefully increased his exposure to the bus operator since 2019 in support of a US hedge fund’s plan to dismantle the business. He opened accounts with multiple spread betting companies to make investing in FirstGroup easier.
Tchenguiz’s circumstances, however, changed in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a market sell-off. Spreadex started liquidating Tchenguiz’s open bets on FirstGroup as a result, which made his financial problems worse. His account was later frozen due to a negative balance of £1.5 million that he was unable to pay off.
Tchenguiz has already been involved in legal battles involving outstanding obligations to spread-betting businesses. In 2022, Tchenguiz was sued by CMC, another spread-betting provider, for failing to pay a debt owed on accounts he had with them. FirstGroup was also involved in the investments, which resulted in losses of more than £6.5 million. In addition, after Tchenguiz lost a lawsuit in 2022, the court ordered him to pay £1.31 million to IG Index, another spread-betting business.
Tchenguiz, who is well-known for his real estate ventures and stock trading, has been on the boards of 37 different firms, including Asite Ltd. Among his honours is the title of Property Entrepreneur of The Year. He also previously served as Chairman of Rotch Group.
In 1948, Tchenguiz’s family left Iraq and finally settled in Iran, where his father, a jeweller, oversaw the nation’s mint while working for the Shah. Tchenguiz changed the family surname from Khadouri to Tchenguiz following the Iranian revolution and moved to England in 1979.
The legal action initiated by Spreadex serves as a reminder of the dangers of spread betting as well as the potential repercussions of high-stakes investment tactics. The ongoing legal disputes involving Tchenguiz serve as a reminder of the value of sound money management and the need for both individuals and corporations to conduct their investing activities appropriately.