RICH men could increasingly decide to stay single in the future following a landmark decision in the Court of Appeal over a controversial divorce settlement.

A senior family lawyer has warned that wealthy men could decide to stay single and protect their assets rather than tie the knot and risk the loss of millions.

Nina Bannerjee, of Denison Till law firm, in York, spoke out following the settlement forced on multi-millionaire City fund manager Alan Miller.

The 41-year-old, who has more than £30m, lost an appeal against a settlement giving £5m to his wife, Melissa, 35, who earns £85,000 a year, after a marriage that lasted only 1,000 days.

In the Court of Appeal judgement, Lord Justice Thorpe said that by marrying, Mr Miller had given his wife expectations of a significantly better standard of living.

In rejecting the appeal, he said it was significant the marriage broke down because Mr Miller had left her for another woman whom he had since married.

The judges warned that the case should not be seen as a template, but Ms Bannerjee warned it was a harsh judgement that would be viewed with suspicion by wealthy men.

She said: "A lot of very rich men are likely to be reluctant to marry given this ruling. Indeed, they are probably far better off never marrying at all."

She said adultery could not be condoned but that the court's judgement had attached an unusual amount of importance to it in reaching the decision.

She said: "This case may open the floodgates to a growth in pre-nuptial agreements or cases being decided upon, amongst other factors, who is responsible for the marriage breakdown.

"This will create more acrimony, litigation and fewer cases being settled amicably, overburdening the courts and causing more pain to all involved."