An oil trader hid London houses inside his companies, and the UK Supreme Court ordered them handed to his ex-wife

Michael Prest owned and controlled the Petrodel Group of companies. Two of the companies held legal title to seven residential properties in the UK, including the family home. In the divorce his wife, Yasmin Prest, sought the properties. Prest said they belonged to the companies, not to him, so the court could not reach them. The High Court ordered the transfer; the Court of Appeal reversed. On 12 June 2013 the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled for the wife. Lord Sumption gave the leading judgment. The court said the corporate veil could be pierced only in exceptional cases and did not pierce it here. Instead it found that the companies held the properties on trust for Prest, so they were his and could be transferred to her. Commentators said the judgment would affect the use of companies to hold what are in reality personal assets. The case ended a long conflict between the family and commercial courts over corporate structures in divorce.