Boohoo IT contractor seeks £118m legal claim

Boohoo co-founder and chairman Mahmud Kamani is facing a £118 million legal claim from an IT contractor claiming to be the firm's third founder.

Richard Womack, who provided IT services to the fast-fashion retailer in 2006, is demanding the lump sum, along with a 10 per cent stake in the company, as part of claims that Kamani breached an agreement.

Boohoo was founded by Kamani, and executive director Carol Kane, in 2006.

High Court documents revealed that Womack stated he was instrumental in Boohoo's early success and subsequent growth, having helped build Boohoo's website and selected the brand’s logo.

Womack claimed it took two years to build the website, some of which he says he paid for using his own money, along with equipment for photoshoots and data collection work.

After this initial work was complete, Womack said he was offered a 10 per cent stake in Boohoo in return for sharing proprietary website code.

However, a spokesman for Kamani called Womack’s demands “opportunistic” and said he had previously attempted to extract money, complaining in 2015 of the contractor's refusal to hand over code, domain names and other IT details.

"Womack’s allegations are entirely without merit - no monies are due and owing to Womack," read a statement. "No claim has yet been served by Womack. Any claim which is formally served on Mr Kamani, will be met with an application to strike it out."

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