A HIGH Court judge has ruled against two Usk recruitment tycoons who tried to sue Lloyd's Bank for 'negligent' advice.

Philip and Wendy Worthing made a fortune in 2006 when they sold their Pontypool-based firm, Abacus Recruitment and Training, for about £5 million. The Abacus sale made them 'ultra-high-net-worth' individuals and they decided to invest part of the profits on the stock market.

They put £700,000 into a 'medium risk' investment portfolio in 2007 but when they pulled out their money around18 months later their money had decreased to £657,000.

Mr and Mrs Worthing invested the cash through Lloyds Bank's investment arm, based in London's Mayfair. They sued the High Street giant, claiming their money was put into investments which were higher risk than they had asked for.

They had never previously invested in financial products, other than the practically risk-free variety, the court heard.

But the couple were left bitterly disappointed when Judge Andrew Keyser QC ruled that there was nothing negligent about the advice they received.

Describing the Worthings as "obviously intelligent", he said they could not be viewed as "naive, unsophisticated or timid".

Mr Worthing had previously enjoyed a glittering career in the golfing world, becoming the UK's youngest golf professional at the age of 16.

The judge observed that the couple had already invested in a substantial property portfolio and "spent a very large sum of money on the purchase of a motorboat".

Although the boat was bought for pleasure, not as an investment, the judge said: "The purchase casts some light on their attitude to retention of money".

Their approach to life was not one of safely putting money on deposit and the judge said they had wanted a balanced, medium-risk, portfolio.

He added: "The evidence shows clearly that they understood what they were getting and got what they wanted".

Judge Keyser said the couple had been reluctant to sell the investment portfolio when they did.

But they decided to sell up, not because the portfolio was unsuitable for them, but because they needed to pay off an unexpected overdraft.