A Birkenhead personal injury firm is proposing to mount a group legal challenge on behalf of shareholders in Quindell, claiming that the stock exchange-listed business made misleading statements to investors.

Quindell Legal Services, headquartered in Liverpool, claims to be the world’s largest listed law firm. 

Your Legal Friend, formerly Camps Solicitors, said today that it is ‘actively investigating a potential class action on behalf of shareholders against Quindell and its board to recover compensation for their losses’. Quindell’s share price has fallen by 85% over the past year. It dipped 14% in morning trading today to stand at 33p by lunchtime. 

In a statement, the firm alleged that Quindell had ‘published financial results and forecast statements which most commentators confidently expect will in the near future be very materially restated’. Its website is advertising the action under the slogan ‘Holey corporate governance!’.

Quindell declined to comment and said that it had learned of the potential action only from the press release.

Colin Gibson (pictured), chief executive of Your Legal Friend, said that claim for compensation might be made for breaches of duty under the Financial Services and Market Act 2000.

He said a group action on behalf of shareholders would break new ground for the firm, which is best known for acting on behalf of 18,000 residents of Kirkby who say their health was damaged by a fire at the Sonae chipboard factory in 2011. However he vigorously denied suggestions of mischief-making against a rival.

‘We are investigating this very seriously,’ he told the Gazette. ‘There is very clearly a large number of shareholders who have suffered financial losses.’

He declined to say how many investors had contacted the firm, or how many would be required to begin the action.