Commercial Court awards GBP 675 million to AXA in long-running Santander dispute
AXA France v Santander Cards UK[2025] EWHC 1881 (Comm)
28 Jul 2025
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The Commercial Court has handed down a substantial judgment in relation to the long-running dispute between AXA and Santander over liabilities arising from the historic mis-selling of payment protection insurance (“PPI”).
Companies subsequently acquired by AXA underwrote PPI policies sold between the 1970s and January 2005 by GE Capital Bank Limited (“GECB”), which was acquired by Santander in 2005. The sale of those policies gave rise to significant liabilities arising from complaints made in relation to PPI mis-selling practices. The AXA companies were liable to pay sums arising from those complaints pursuant to the relevant regulatory regime.
The Court held that GECB was in turn liable to pay the AXA companies under an indemnity contained in an agency agreement entered into between the parties. The indemnity applied to all losses arising from acts or omissions from GECB’s sales of PPI as the AXA companies’ agent. The sum awarded amounted to approximately GBP 675 million.
Andrew Green KC, Fraser Campbell KC and Timothy Lau (instructed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP) acted for AXA.
The judgment may be found here.
