Simon Lyons, the 46-year-old grandson of the late retail tycoon Jack Lyons, has filed a lawsuit in the High Court seeking damages exceeding £1 million. The legal action names his 76-year-old mother, Miriam, as the defendant, alleging she conspired with former business partners to defraud him of his shares in a property business they co-founded 17 years prior.
According to court documents, the dispute began in 2021 when Lyons's partners allegedly defrauded him. His claim states that his mother then acted not as a parent, but as an active participant in the scheme against him. The documents further allege that Miriam, working in concert with a former company director, demanded Lyons transfer his shares as part of a "whole package" deal. He claims she threatened him with becoming "penniless, friendless and without a reputation," and that he would lose his own daughter if he refused.
The suit also claims Miriam spread "false allegations of substance abuse and instability" to undermine her son's credibility and isolate him. It is further alleged that she offered her support only if Simon surrendered his company computer.
Miriam, sister to textiles tycoon Sir Harry Djanogly, has stated through her lawyer that she is "saddened by the current proceedings" but has declined to comment further on the specifics of the claims. Simon Lyons's maternal family, including his uncle Sir Harry Djanogly, has amassed significant wealth, estimated in the hundreds of millions, and has a history of philanthropic donations to artistic, humanitarian, and educational causes, leading to multiple knighthoods within the family.
Simon Lyons expressed his distress over the situation, noting the difficulty of resolving the matter through mediation, particularly within the context of his Jewish faith, where family lawsuits are typically avoided. He conveyed that airing family disputes publicly is not something anyone desires.