Spice Girls land £400,000 court bill

The Spice Girls with their scooters - before five became four

The Spice Girls face a legal bill of £400,000 after losing a High Court case over a sponsorship agreement.

Mrs Justice Arden ruled after a hearing in February that the group had lost their £218,000 claim against Aprilia World Service, which sponsored their 1998 Spiceworld tour.

The company signed a contract with the act worth more than £500,000 to promote its products, including a special Spice Sonic scooter with a silhouette of the five Spice Girls on it.

The promotion became a "total marketing flop", the court heard

But the original hearing was told the advertising and promotional campaign had turned into a "total marketing flop" when Geri Halliwell left the group, costing the company millions of pounds in lost profits.

The judge had already ruled there was an implied misrepresentation by the group when they had signed the contract with Aprilia, because they had known Halliwell was planning to leave.

She added the company would not have entered into the agreement, to give the group £450,000 in sponsorship fees and £112,000 in guaranteed royalties on the scooter, if it had known that beforehand.

When Aprilia refused to pay the Spice Girls any more on the sponsorship contract, the group launched their action against the company, claiming £100,000 in unpaid royalties, motorcycles worth £6,000 and the guaranteed royalty payment.

But, making a final ruling on damages awards and legal costs, Mrs Justice Arden ordered the company should get £45,550 from the group for the motorcycles it supplied to them, plus aboutd 60% of its own legal costs.

Lawyers involved in the case said the Spice Girls would face a total legal bill of £400,000, including their costs.

Later, solicitors for the girls' company, Spice Girls Limited, said they would be appealing to the Court Of Appeal.

A statement said the company was "disappointed" with the result.