Coldplay is demanding £14 million, alleging conflict of interest on the part of Dave Holmes as they negotiated terms for a tour in 2021. The move forms a legal retaliatory action after Mr. Holmes himself filed his own £10 million lawsuit in August against band members Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion.

Mr. Holmes insists he is owed money as payment for organizing recording sessions and samples on the band's yet-to-be-released 10th and 11th albums ahead of his sacking at the end of last year. However, according to court documents seen by The Times, the band argues that Mr. Holmes allowed tour costs to spiral out of control.

They allege that Mr. Holmes borrowed £24.6 million ($30 million) from concert promoter Live Nation and used this money for business development in Canada. The band said this may have caused a conflict of interest in negotiations for the 2021 tour "Music of the Spheres."

The band's case is that Mr. Holmes had a "personal interest" in maintaining good relations with Live Nation to ensure it gave favourable loan terms and, therefore, might not have been at liberty to negotiate the best terms for Coldplay.

In response to the counterclaim, a spokesperson for Mr. Holmes said that Coldplay's accusations alleging any ethical lapses are unfounded, and what is really happening here is their unwillingness to comply with the terms of their contract with him.

This claim by Mr. Holmes is vehemently denied by Coldplay, who say that the reason they did not renew his management agreement was because of increasing concerns over his conduct.