Kate Bleasdale, the former executive chairman and founder of healthcare recruiter Healthcare Locums (HCL) has won the right to appeal against her previous Employment Tribunal defeat.

Bleasdale failed in her unfair dismissal claim against the company after a 15-day long tribunal in April 2012. 

Bleasdale tells Recruiter that she was given the right to appeal last week. She says she doesn’t yet know when the appeal will be heard.

Meanwhile, Craig Tibbles, an HCL minority shareholder, with 3.2% of shares, says he has agreed to sell his stake to Angel Acquisitions. Angel Acquisitions originally made the offer to Tibbles and other minority shareholders in April as part of a plan agreed with the HCL board to take the company private and to restructure the company. HCL’s shares were delisted on AIM on 3 June. 

He tells Recruiter: “I have accepted the offers from Angel Acquisitions for my shares. I won’t be pursuing any action against HCL.” In accepting the offer of 0.75p per share, Tibbles, whose shares were worth £2.5m in September 2011 stands to make a loss of around £2.3m.

However, Bleasdale tells Recruiter that she is continuing her £2.24m compensation claim against HCL for allegedly “unfairly prejudicing” her position as a shareholder.  

The claim, which was confirmed by HCL in April, asserts that HCL should purchase Bleasdale’s shares at £1.12 per share, which was the share price immediately before the company's suspension from AIM in January 2011 rather than the 0.75p a share offered by Angel Acquisitions. 

Bleasdale says the offer values her 2m shares at £14k. She tells Recruiter: “Why would I want to lose all that money?” She adds that it is “the principle and justice” rather than the money that is most important. 

HCL had not responded to recruiter.co.uk at the time of going to press.