A former director has been banned by the SRA after he was sued by his firm over civil claims worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

In a decision notice published today by the regulator, it was confirmed that non-lawyer manager Aaron Playle had been disqualified from leading any other legal firm in future.

Playle was a director and owner of Hertfordshire practice FindMyClaims (also known as FMC Law Limited) from September 2007 to February 2019. The notice stated that in November 2019, following a civil claim brought by FindMyClaims against Playle, the court found he had made unauthorised withdrawals from the business coming to £120,000.

He was also found to have caused two contractors to overcharge the firm by £91,576 and received secret commissions totalling £203,387.

No further details were provided about the civil claims.

It was found he breached two principles: acting with integrity and acting in a way that maintains the public’s trust in the profession.

Playle is now subject to a section 99 order preventing him from being head of any legal practice or acting as manager or employee. He was also ordered to pay the SRA’a £600 costs.

Companies House records show that Playle, 61, resigned as a director of FMC Law Ltd in February 2019 and he has held a total of 25 director appointments with various businesses.