A warring couple locked in what has been dubbed ‘Britain’s most toxic divorce’ have spent a third of their wealth on the long-running legal battle.
A judge said Barbara Cooke, 58, and Michael Parker, 55, have ‘completely lost touch with reality’ as they slug it out over an estimated £6.6million fortune.
Mr Justice Holman said the dispute is a ‘scandalous waste of court time’ and urged them to settle the case before more of their money is gone.
The couple are behind a Buckinghamshire-based firm who provide luxury bathrobes and towels to top hotels and spas across the UK and Europe.
Michael Parker and Barbara Cooke have spent a third of their wealth fighting what has been dubbed ‘Britain’s most toxic divorce’
A High Court judge previously ruled the businessman arranged for his wife’s £1million house to be burned in a failed insurance job in 2009.
No criminal prosecution was brought and Mrs Cooke, who was found to have had no part in either the arson or the fraud, walked out on her husband shortly after a ruling on the fire in 2012.
They have since been battling over assets estimated to be worth £6.6million.
At a hearing of the Family Division of the High Court today, Mr Justice Holman said the couple were heading for a ‘catastrophe’ and urged them to negotiate.
‘They have spent a third of their wealth,’ he said.
‘These people have completely lost touch with reality. I don’t know where the responsibility lies. It’s probably shared.’
The couple’s marriage fell apart after fire hit their home and Mr Parker was later blamed
The judge estimated that about another £200,000 would be spent on lawyers if agreement was not reached and a trial took place.
The pair first met when Mrs Cooke’s sons were at the same school as Mr Parker’s sons. Both Mrs Cooke and Mr Parker’s marriages had recently ended and they began a relationship in 2004.
The couple once shared a house has its own gym and a heated pool, which Mr Parker named after Mrs Cooke
She later moved into his state-of-the-art seven-bedroom home complete with library, swimming pool, cinema, six-car garage block and detached staff bungalow, and both had high-flying business careers.
Property developer Mr Parker also ran a company specialising in equipment for obesity surgery, while his wife supplied luxury towels.
But after the fire at Mrs Cooke’s £1million bungalow in 2009, the marriage fell apart.
A judge found that, on the balance of probabilities, there was no explanation for the fire ‘other than it was set by persons on the direction of Mr Parker’.
They are now arguing over the towel company BC Softwear. Mr Parker insists it was a family business, while a source close to Mrs Cooke has previous said she insists she built it up.