Following the dissolution of their six-year marriage, a judge has ordered a Swedish businesswoman with an estimated net worth of £250 million to pay her estranged husband more than £6.5 million.
In a London private family court, Louise Backstrom and Martin Wennberg, both in their 30s, were involved in a money dispute.
A cash package worth more than £40 million was sought by Mr. Wennberg, but Deputy High Court judge Leslie Samuels rejected his request.
At a recent private trial, Judge Samuels—who preside over hearings in the Family Division of the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice—took the testimony into consideration.
He has listed the parties involved and provided a written summary of his findings.
According to a premarital agreement, Ms. Backstrom made a housing fund pledge of £6.5 million, according to Judge Samuels. ‘Full weight’ should be given to the deal, he said.
The judge ordered Ms. Backstrom to contribute an additional £60,000 annually for the following six years to cover Mr. Wennberg’s “income needs.”
Ms. Backstrom, 33, and Mr. Wennberg, 39, are both Swedish but were residents of England, the judge was informed.
The judge was informed that Ms. Backstrom was the head of the Biltema Foundation and a small shareholder in Birgma Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, a family company founded and run by her grandfather.
He estimated that Mr. Wennberg had assets of $2 million and Ms. Backstrom’s assets to be around $250 million.
The judge stated, “The parties met in Stockholm and started dating in March 2012.”
“The wife was a student and the husband worked selling luxury watches when they met.”
He said that they began cohabiting in 2014, were hitched in 2015, and parted ways in 2021.
The judge remarked, “From any perspective, the standard of living enjoyed by this family prior to the dissolution of the marriage was extremely high.”
The parties took advantage of the high-end London apartments, personnel, pricey vacations, endless travel options, and, all in all, the best that money could buy.
According to the judge, Mr. Wennberg “filed no evidence” and made “no disclosure of his financial position.”
Mr. Wennberg, he claimed, had disobeyed instructions for him to divulge financial information.
When Ms. Backstrom claimed that Mr. Wennberg had disobeyed court orders issued during the disagreement and was in contempt, specifics of the litigation came to light in March.
She requested that a different judge send her to prison.
Mr. Justice Peel determined Mr. Wennberg had violated earlier court orders after hearing Ms. Backstrom’s contempt charge in open court in the Family Division of the High Court in London.
Later this year, a judge is scheduled to make judgments regarding sentencing.
