UK court orders Laura Ashley boss to pay US$80m divorce settlement to ex-wife, a former Miss Malaysia

The 78-year-old boss of Laura Ashley has been ordered to pay his ex-wife £64million (US$80 million) to settle their long-running divorce row.

Pauline Chai, who was crowned Miss Malaysia in 1969, was seeking £100million from Khoo Kay Peng following their split after 42 years of marriage. She claimed their assets were worth at least £205million.

She claimed she had contributed to her husband’s success by being a “traditional” wife, and that she and Khoo had made a sharing agreement entitling her to half of the family wealth.

Khoo, who is non-executive chair of Laura Ashley Holdings, argued that his former wife should only receive £9million.

On Thursday, Mr Justice Bodey ruled Chai should receive a £64million settlement made up of cash and property.

Chai and Khoo married in 1970 and had five children together before splitting in 2012. Since separating, they have spent more than £6million between them on lawyers to fight their financial dispute, which has been closely watched in Malaysia and the UK.

In January, lawyers representing Chai said she had been granted a decree absolute, nearly four years after filing for divorce. A family judge had signalled the end of the marriage a year ago by granting a decree nisi.