Ousted car sales tycoon faces legal battles and allegations of abusive behavior

From Yahoo Finance: 2025-06-21 10:00:00

Peter Waddell, a self-made multimillionaire from South London, faces legal battles after being ousted from his used car empire, Big Motoring World. Allegations of sexist, racist, and abusive behavior led to his exit, which he contests. Waddell raises concerns about private equity investors’ treatment of founders post-investment.

Waddell’s challenging journey from childhood abuse to wealth includes living on the streets and starting his car business from scratch. Freshstream, a private equity group, acquired part of Big Motoring World in 2022. However, disputes arose, leading to investigations into serious allegations of racism and sexual harassment against Waddell.

Freshstream’s investigation of 27 allegations against Waddell includes claims of racist abuse and sexual harassment towards employees. Waddell denies the allegations, stating they were taken out of context. He alleges that the internal investigation was biased and aimed at ousting him from the company he founded. Waddell’s health issues were not taken into consideration during this process. Peter Waddell’s legal battle heats up as company moves forward without him, citing business risk. Investigation report by Nicholas Siddall KC raises questions about fairness. Siddall found 15 out of 27 allegations against Waddell to be true. High court battle likely next year. Other entrepreneurs share similar claims of investor interference. Allegations to be tested in court soon.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Who’s the boss? The ousted car sales tycoon versus his private equity investor