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A millionaire businessman who loaned an old street sweeper friend £200,000 has taken him to court as he tries to get his money back.
John Rankin Cornforth, inherited his fortune when his “rich” father died, and was persuaded to give Simon Denyer hundreds of thousands of pounds between 2012 and 2014 as he dealt with his divorce proceedings.
Street sweeper Simon Denyer has already been sued by his former friend for nearly £200,000 he lent him, but claims his friend has forgiven him for helping him.
The pair had previously been “frequent tablemates” since they met in 1979.
Cornforth, who has a £1.5 million home in north London as well as land in New Zealand worth £600,000, had given the money to Denyer when he was separating from his wife and then to pay off the home loan.
Denyer works as a street sweeper in Guildford even though he comes from a wealthy family.
But Cornforth’s father was described as ‘very wealthy’, who had generously supported his son “throughout his life”.
Denyer now admits that the money he was given for the divorce was a loan and that it must be paid, while the payment of the home loan was, according to him, “a gift”.
The prosecutor told Judge Stephen Hellman that the sum of £200,000 was “no big deal” but said he “trusted” his friend to pay him back.
His lawyer Chris Howitt said: “For Mr Denyer, who is a street sweeper, this is a huge amount.”
Lawyers say there are no “written documents” to prove it was a loan, but Cornforth says he didn’t ask for written proof because he believed Denyer would pay him back.
The trial continues.
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