Tech tycoon behind £55m MyVoucherCodes empire accuses his ex-boyfriend of trying to ‘destroy’ his business by ‘leaking sensitive details about him’ amid bitter court battle

• Aaron Harpin ‘strongly’ denies allegations he leaked details about Mark Pearson

A millionaire tech tycoon has accused his ex-boyfriend of trying to ‘destroy’ his business by ‘leaking sensitive details about him’ to clients.

Mark Pearson, creator of £55million MyVoucherCodes empire, has sued his former partner Aaron Harpin for allegedly launching a ‘damaging’ anonymous email campaign against him.

Mr Pearson has accused Mr Harpin, 34, of sending four emails to contacts of his tech venture capital business during the ‘particularly sensitive time’ when he was raising funds for its investments.

The case reached the High Court in London court last week as Mr Pearson, 44, applied for an order to force his ex to hand over his laptop and any information he might hold about him.

But Judge Susie Alegre dismissed the ‘delivery up’ application this week and the fight is set to continue to a full trial of the allegations. 

Mr Harpin has ‘strongly’ denied the allegations that he deliberately leaked sensitive details about his ex and has accused his Mr Pearson of ‘controlling’ behaviour. 

Mark Pearson, creator of coupon website MyVoucherCodes, (left) has sued his former partner Aaron Harpin (right) for allegedly launching a ‘damaging’ anonymous email campaign against him. The pair are pictured with their two children

Mr Pearson has accused Mr Harpin, 34, (pictured) of sending four emails to contacts of his tech venture capital business during the ‘particularly sensitive time’ when he was raising funds for its investments

Mr Pearson launched MyVoucherCodes in 2006 and become one of Britain’s richest people in 2016 after selling the website in a deal worth up to £55million.

He met his now-ex in 2008, about two years after he launched the savings site, while Mr Harpin was a student working at Zara and the pair began a romantic relationship.

Together the pair raised their two children, twins born through surrogacy, and maintained a jet-set lifestyle with homes in London and Monaco, property in Barbados and a fleet of luxury cars.

They also worked together in Mr Pearson’s businesses after Mr Harpin quit his fashion job. Mr Harpin also ran a business, having set up HushHush.com, an online marketplace for the megarich, selling yachts, diamond-encrusted watches and other high-end luxuries, and dubbed ‘Amazon for billionaires’ in the press.

But the couple split last year and are now fighting a High Court battle over four anonymous emails which were sent this summer to contacts of Mr Pearson’s venture capital company Fuel Ventures Ltd and consultancy services firm Fuel Studios Ltd.

His barrister, Charles Newington-Bridges, said the emails were particularly damaging as they had been sent during the ‘particularly sensitive time’ when Mr Pearson was raising funds for its investments.

The damaging information contained in the emails could only have come from Mr Harpin, he claimed, as he was the only person who had access to all of the details in them.

Mr Pearson launched proceedings to end the email campaign, suing Mr Harpin for an order forcing him to hand over his laptop, all information he has about Mr Pearson and a witness statement saying what is stored on the computer.

The case reached the High Court in London court last week as Mr Pearson, 44, (pictured outside the court) applied for an order to force his ex to hand over his laptop and any information he might hold about him. But Judge Susie Alegre dismissed the ‘delivery up’ application this week and the fight is set to continue to a full trial of the allegations

If Mr Harpin had sent the information, it was in breach of the settlement agreement the couple had signed after they split, dealing with financial issues between them, the barrister argued.

He argued the cost of the damages to Mr Pearson’s business – allegedly to the tune of ‘tens of millions’ – if the emails continued would be much greater than the prejudice to Mr Harpin if he were not allowed to keep his laptop.

‘This is a claim which involves a very serious breach of a settlement agreement,’ said the barrister. ‘The financial damage, according to Mr Pearson, is huge, potentially tens of millions.’

But Mr Harpin fought the application, denying he was behind the emails and arguing that he needs to keep his laptop in order to defend claims made by his ex in the proceedings.

Mr Harpin’s barrister Katherine Boucher told the judge that her client claims Mr Pearson has an ‘ambitious management style’ and has made ‘many enemies’ by ‘riding close to the edge of the rules’ in business.

‘Mr Harpin doesn’t know who sent the emails,’ she told the judge. ‘He strongly denies being behind these emails.

‘He has maintained as part of his defence that, although he didn’t send the information, it is likely to be true and that it is important for him to keep in his defence at trial.’

She said the application was ‘unnecessary and unfounded in circumstances where the claimants have conducted extensive research and have no evidence at all that Harpin is responsible.’

Ms Boucher further argued that the couple’s relationship was often a difficult one and accused the tech tycoon of being ‘controlling’.

‘The relationship was close, but also strained at times,’ she told the judge. ‘Mr Pearson was the main breadwinner and Mr Harpin did work for them. Mr Pearson controlled much of what he did at work and in his private life.’

Mr Harpin has ‘strongly’ denied the allegations that he deliberately leaked sensitive details about his ex and has accused his Mr Pearson of ‘controlling’ behaviour. The former couple are pictured with their two children

In a witness statement which she described to the court, Mr Harpin had described Mr Pearson as ‘always very controlling’ in their relationship.

‘I had set rules I was supposed to follow and going outside those would result in punishment,’ he said.

Ms Boucher said that following their split, Mr Pearson had taken over Mr Harpin’s Fuel Ventures email address and transferred some shares in a company from his ex’s name to his own.

It meant that by the summer of this year, Mr Harpin was in ‘serious need of funds’ and signed a settlement agreement which would see shares transferred back to him.

The agreement also resolved outstanding issues between the former couple over funds in their joint bank account and included covenants banning Mr Harpin from revealing any information about Mr Pearson.

Ruling, the judge said there is an ‘extremely acrimonious’ background to the case, but declined to order delivery up of the laptop and documents sought by Mr Pearson.

‘It’s impossible to take a clear view of the likely outcome at this stage,’ she said.

‘It’s for the claimants to build their case. They say Mr Harpin was the only person who had the information in the anonymous emails.

‘Both parties allege breach of the settlement agreement. There is clearly a lot of mutual distrust.’

But she added: ‘The only evidence that Mr Harpin was behind the anonymous emails which triggered the proceedings is inferential.

‘The balance of convenience lies in not granting a mandatory order for delivery up. I find that granting order for delivery up would add unnecessary hurdles to him in his defence.’

Mr Pearson grew up in the poor Liverpool suburb of Huyton, where his single mother struggled to make ends meet, working nights in a petrol station and cutting coupons.

He previously said the experience inspired him to set up MyVoucherCodes in 2006, starting with a £300 payment for the website, which he initially ran from a laptop in his one-bed flat in Croydon.

Mr Pearson, who prior to setting up the site had worked as a chef under Gordon Ramsey, recalled how he would spend hours scouring news websites and magazines for vouchers.

They were then posted on MyVoucherCodes, with Mr Pearson going on to secure commission payments from the companies themselves for each time a voucher was downloaded.

The business was a huge success, reportedly turning over £300,000 in its first year, making £10million in its first four years and earning him the Ernst and Young ‘Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2011.

Eventually, its success led to him becoming one of the country’s richest people when it was sold in a deal worth up to £55 million in 2016.

The case will continue to a full trial of the allegations at a later date.

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