Privy Council dismisses Mauritius director's appeal against order to repay £615,000 company loan in Aldridge v Mordaunt Estates

The Privy Council delivered judgment on 6 October 2026 in Stephen Anthony Aldridge v Mordaunt Estates Ltd (Mauritius) ([2026] UKPC 34), dismissing the appeal of a director ordered by the Mauritius courts to repay £615,000 plus approximately £31,500 in damages to the company, Mordaunt Estates Ltd (MEL). The case centred on whether a payment of £615,000 made by MEL to its director Mr Aldridge constituted a loan prohibited by section 159(5) of the Companies Act 2001 of Mauritius (the 2001 Act), which restricts companies from making loans to their own directors. The Board, comprising Lord Sales, Lord Hamblen, and Lord Burrows (who gave the judgment), examined five grounds of appeal: whether a preliminary objection by MEL should dispose of the appeal; whether the £615,000 was indeed a prohibited loan; whether Mr Aldridge should have been permitted to rely at trial on a shareholders' resolution dated 15 February 2010, which he argued retrospectively authorised the payments under section 159(9) of the 2001 Act; whether the Court of Civil Appeal's decision should be set aside for apparent bias; and whether the quantum of damages was arbitrary. MEL is in liquidation, with its liquidator, Vasoodayyen Virasami, representing the company in these proceedings. Mr Aldridge represented himself at trial, though he was represented by counsel on appeal. The Privy Council heard the appeal on 21 July 2026 before handing down judgment on 6 October 2026.