The High Court has refused an application to amend a statement of claim to assert that a company’s auditors had a duty to report suspected fraud directly to individual shareholders.

In The Wine Enterprise Investment Scheme Limited (In Liquidation) v Crowe UK LLP, the court held that the proposed amendment had no real prospect of success, reinforcing established authority that an auditor’s statutory and common law duties are owed to the company and not to individual shareholders.

The High Court has refused an application to amend a statement of claim to assert that a company’s auditors, Crowe UK LLP, had a duty to report suspected fraud directly to individual shareholders.

In The Wine Enterprise Investment Scheme Limited (In Liquidation) v Crowe UK LLP [2026] EWHC 692 (Ch), the court held that the proposed amendment had no real prospect of success, reinforcing established authority that an auditor’s statutory and common law duties are owed to the company and not to individual shareholders.