Cider boss faces £875,000 legal bill after failed will challenge

Former Dorset cider company owner Alastair Bowerman has been ordered to pay around £875,000 in legal costs after unsuccessfully challenging his parents’ wills in a long-running family dispute. The High Court accepted that his father lacked testamentary capacity when signing a 1999 will, but ruled the claim had been brought far too late.

Bowerman v Bowerman has concluded with a substantial legal costs order against former cider company boss Alastair Bowerman following a prolonged inheritance dispute involving a Dorset farming and drinks business dynasty.

Bowerman has been ordered to pay approximately £875,000 in legal costs after unsuccessfully suing his brothers over the division of family wealth linked to Godlingston Manor Farm on the Isle of Purbeck.

The Bowerman family business interests included a natural mineral water operation connected to the estate, while Alastair Bowerman himself previously ran Dorset Cider, which collapsed the year after his mother died in 2012.

Dispute centred on family wills

The case focused on wills made by John and Jean Bowerman in 1999, replacing earlier wills signed in 1988.

According to the judgment in Bowerman v Bowerman [2025] EWHC 2947 (Ch), reviewed by solicitor Jennifer Wiss-Carline for the National Case Law Archive, the revised wills altered the balance of inheritance between the three brothers.

Under the earlier arrangements, Alastair and his brother David were expected to receive greater cash provision while brother Ben inherited the farming operation at Godlingston Manor, including the family’s mineral water interests.

However, the 1999 wills gave Ben a larger share of the remaining estate and farm-related assets.

Court accepts concerns over father’s capacity

Master Julia Clark found that John Bowerman lacked testamentary capacity when signing his 1999 will on 22 April 1999.

The court accepted medical evidence that John was suffering an acute episode of heart failure on the same day the will was executed and required emergency hospital admission. The judgment also found he did not know and approve the contents of the will.

Applying the established Banks v Goodfellow principles, the court concluded John’s severe stroke and communication difficulties significantly impaired his ability to make a valid testamentary decision.

Delay proved decisive

Despite those findings, Alastair Bowerman’s challenge ultimately failed because of laches.

The court held that he had delayed too long before bringing proceedings, waiting more than 18 years despite being aware of the contents of the wills shortly after they were made.

The judgment also referred to a 2004 meeting where Bowerman expressly indicated he did not intend to challenge the will, with executors subsequently administering the estate on that basis.

Undue influence allegations rejected

Alastair Bowerman also alleged that his mother Jean had been unduly influenced by Ben when making her 1999 will.

That claim was dismissed. The court found Jean knew and approved the contents of her will and that evidence presented, including diary entries written years later, did not establish coercion or pressure affecting her decision-making at the time.

Family tensions escalated over time

As reported by The Telegraph, relations between the brothers deteriorated sharply following the deaths of their parents.

The newspaper reported that Alastair Bowerman received a criminal conviction for arson after setting fire to Ben Bowerman’s car in 2015, leading to a restraining order preventing direct contact with Ben and his immediate family.

The High Court later heard that the combined legal costs now exceed the value of the estate itself. Bowerman was ordered to make an interim payment of £475,000 towards the overall liabilities claimed by his brothers and the professional administrator of Jean Bowerman’s estate.

For the drinks sector, the dispute also brings an unusual footnote involving a former cider producer whose inheritance battle has ultimately resulted in legal liabilities far exceeding the value of the estate itself.

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