‘Man from Del Monte’ says yes to £15m divorce deal

By NATALIE WALKER
Published on 23/02/2013 01:14

A WEALTHY drinks magnate has reached a final settlement worth £15 million with his estranged wife – bringing their bitter divorce battle to an end.

Vivian Imerman, known as “the man from Del Monte” after he sold a stake in the tinned- fruit firm for £380 million, will pay Lisa Tchenguiz in instalments with no costs.

Ms Tchenguiz, whose brothers are property tycoons Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz, had reportedly been seeking up to £100m from her South Africa-born husband.

In 2010, she lost a bid to base her claim on thousands of documents downloaded by her brothers from her husband’s computer. The couple had been married for seven years before she petitioned for divorce in 2008.

Mr Imerman’s spokeswoman said Mr Justice Moylan at the High Court Family Division had considered the terms of the settlement and approved them as “fair and reasonable”.

The businessman, who made £396m by selling the whisky group Whyte & Mackay in 2007, is now chairman of inter­national private investment firm Vasari.

In a statement on yesterday’s settlement, his spokeswoman said: “Mr Imerman believes this is in the best interests of their daughter. This brings to an end four years of litigation.”

She added that both parties signed a binding confidentiality agreement and Mr Imerman did not intend to comment further regarding his “short marriage to Ms Tchenguiz”.

Film producer Ms Tchenguiz signed a pre-nuptial agreement with her husband in 2001, but asked for more because his fortune increased in the time they were married.

While he was married, Mr Imerman accepted an invitation from his brothers-in-law to share their Mayfair office.