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Nathaniel Rothschild has sued financier Lars Windhorst less than six months after the scion of the banking dynasty agreed to become head of the German businessman's investment company.
Lord Rothschild filed a lawsuit against Windhorst and Tenor International, his Swiss investment firm, in the High Court in London on Wednesday, according to court records. Nathaniel Rothschild inherited the British title when his father Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild, died last year.
Court records show the lawsuit concerns a contract dispute, with no further details publicly available. However, a Rothschild spokesman told the Financial Times that it was a matter of alleged default.
A Rothschild spokesman said: “This relates to a separate matter which is distinct from Lord Rothschild’s investment in Tenor, where he provided short-term credit facilities to Mr Windhorst personally, which is now in default.” “He is disappointed that he had to take this action.”
Windhorst declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was first reported by Bloomberg.
Windhorsta scandal-prone German financier known for his lavish lifestyle and history of legal troubles, successfully courted Rothschild to become his new business partner last year.
During a ceremony held at Windhorst's Mayfair offices in July, Rothschild declared He will take a minority stake in the financier's investment company Tennor and become its CEO.
“I will devote all my time to this effort,” Rothschild said at the time. “I've never seen anyone work as hard as Lars, it's absolutely amazing.”
in Interview with FT Last month, Windhorst said: “I am very pleased, indeed excited, to have Lord Rothschild with us.”
Windhorst rose to fame as a teenager in the 1990s, when Helmut Kohl, the German chancellor at the time, hailed him as a business genius.
However, his business career was plagued by legal disputes and the collapse of several ventures. Several creditors have pursued him for repayment through the High Court in London in recent years.
His Dutch investment firm Tennor Holding has also faced several bankruptcy petitions in the Netherlands, with the group's former general counsel Peter Calamari filing a new claim last month. Calamari did not respond to a request for comment.
German shipbuilder Tennor Holding also filed for bankruptcy last month, putting 500 jobs at risk.
With Tennor Holding facing claims from creditors, Windhorst in recent years has mainly sought new deals through Tennor International.
