A SQUABBLE between the founders of a multi-million pound construction company in Cheltenham has been decided in court.

John McCreadie and David Foreman were forced to take their dispute to an employment tribunal in Bristol after infighting at Newland Homes led to Mr McCreadie being fired.

The pair have now settled the claim with Newland Homes accepting the dismissal was unfair and agreeing to pay £45,000 in compensation, but Mr McCreadie also acknowledging he was 85 per cent responsible for the circumstances leading up to his sacking.

A spokeswoman for Mr McCreadie, who lives in Swindon Village, said the feud had left him jobless.

She said: "John was asking for reinstatement in the company as a result of his unfair dismissal but unfortunately the tribunal does not have the power to impose that. It means he still owns half the business but no longer has his job.

"The barristers agreed compensation of £45,000 to John but he wasn't interested in the money, it was the principle that was important."

Newland Homes was founded in 1991 by Mr Foreman and Mr McCreadie. From humble beginnings, the company had grown to employ more than 100 people when Mr McCreadie was fired in October 2008.

Financial reports place the current value of the firm at nearly £20 million. It has also been named in the top 100 most profitable companies by The Sunday Times Price Waterhouse Guide.

Mr McCreadie's spokeswoman said: "That is when things started to go wrong. John has now been unemployed for more than 16 months while this has been going on. It's all been very stressful and has caused him a lot of trouble."

The dispute was scheduled to be heard over the whole of last week but the three-person tribunal panel called an end to proceedings after two days.

Mr McCreadie's spokeswoman said: "It shows how obvious it was that the dismissal was unfair. The tribunal's decision vindicated that."

A spokesman for Newland Homes declined to comment.