A CONTROVERSIAL electronics enterpreneur has agreed an out-of-court deal with liquidators trying to recover cash paid out by one of his firms months before it shut with the loss of 420 jobs.

Sam Russell reached an agreement to end the lengthy legal action launched against him and his Simclar Group by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The liquidators wanted to recover £3 million in dividends paid by Simclar Ayrshire to its Dunfermline-based parent firm in June 2006, months before Mr Russell closed the business which had plants in Irvine and Kilwinning.

Mr Russell sparked fresh controversy in June when he put his Simclar Group into administration. The loss of 138 jobs in Dunfermline followed.