MILLIONAIRE city retail tycoon Chris Dawson is suing his former business partner after a £7million property deal turned sour.

The Range owner, who has an estimated fortune of over £300million, claims investment funds managed by ex-pal and fellow Plymouth businessman Paul Scantlebury "went missing".

The pair are now locked in a bitter courtroom battle after falling out while renovating a string of villas in the plush South of France.

Mr Dawson is suing developer Mr Scantlebury, who was sacked from the project following the row, for the cost of completing the project. But Mr Scantlebury is counter-suing for his share of the profits from the sale of the properties.

They have come face-to-face at Bristol County Court for a civil hearing that is expected to stretch into tomorrow.

His Honour Judge Mark Havelock-Allan QC was told on Monday, when the case opened, how Mr Dawson's company CDS entered into a joint venture with Mr Scantlebury's Riviera Property Development firm.

The partnership was to renovate three properties, each worth around £2.5million.

The pair had successfully developed a villa just outside Cannes, which they sold for a £500,000 profit, the court heard, while a third was planned to be renovated and sold.

But they fell out in 2009 as Mr Scantlebury was preparing to renovate a villa in Cap-d'Ail – an exclusive resort bordering Monaco – for a Russian client.

The court heard how a chance phone conversation between the business partners had raised suspicions that Mr Scantlebury, aged 44, was misusing funds.

He had asked Mr Dawson for more money and could not explain what had happened to the thousands the businessman had already handed him, the court heard.

CDS chief executive Bradley Hurter, who was later brought in to oversee the project's finances, told the court: "Mr Scantlebury could not account for the money and could not say where it had gone.

"Mr Dawson asked me to get involved in the project because money had gone missing."

The court was told that when Mr Hurter checked the specifications list for the villa, he found it inadequate.

When he queried figures over on the spec sheet – over features ordered for the villa – Mr Scantlebury automatically 'lowered the prices', it was claimed.

This caused Mr Hurter to immediately query whether the businessman should be working on the project – claiming he had 'plucked the figures out of thin air'.

Mr Scantlebury, who himself now lives in Southern France, was removed from the project before the villa was sold.

He argues that Mr Dawson removed him to avoid paying his agreed 40 per cent profit share.

Mr Dawson is suing him to recover the cost of hiring French workmen to complete the renovations.

Michael Berkley, representing Mr Scantlebury, told Mr Hurter: "There was never any suggestion of dishonesty at that stage – as you would have put it in your statement.

"You're trying to help Mr Dawson to get out of this joint venture agreement that he didn't want to be in."

The success of The Range, which now has 59 stores in the UK, saw Mr Dawson's fortune grow by around £54million last year. The entrepreneur, who began his business life as a market trader, leapt six places to 254th on the Sunday Times Rich List in May.

Mr Scantlebury has been involved in city-based development projects including the Sutton High Apartments, in Regent Street, and Ridge Park, in Plympton.

He is also a director of Devon Lifestyles Limited – a partnership between his PS Developments, which is currently in liquidation, and fellow local businessman Mike Trathen – which had planned to build Exeter's first five-star hotel.

The hearing, expected to last until tomorrow, continues.