Company directors are being urged to take immediate steps to protect their assets after a landmark divorce case saw a former wife awarded properties that were owned by her husband's business.

Clare Ellison, a family law specialist at Kirwans solicitors has warned that the decision by the Supreme Court that oil tycoon Michael Prest must hand over properties owned by his company Petrodel to his former wife Yasmin could have disastrous consequences for company directors going through divorces of their own.

The case was escalated to the Supreme Court because of a dispute over whether the properties were the husband's to give away, with the Court of Appeal having previously ruled that the properties were a separate legal entity belonging to Petrodel.

The final decision has sent shockwaves through the offices of divorce lawyers across the country.

Ms Ellison said that the case sent out a warning for company directors, who should now make it a priority to ensure their corporate assets would be protected if they were to find themselves in a similar situation.

She said: "This ruling is significant because of what it means for divorcing couples contesting financial settlements.

"It reinforces the fact that spouses who try to evade their financial responsibilities in divorce will not be able to hide behind company structures.

"It also acts as a warning to company directors that they need to seek legal advice over the steps they need to take to protect their company's assets in the event of a situation such as this."

Ms Ellison said that the case also brings the issue of pre-nuptial agreements back into the spotlight.

"Although not yet legally binding, prenuptial and post nuptial agreements play a large part in protecting a partner's assets should the marriage end in divorce, and are increasingly considered by courts in determining financial settlements," she said.

"Just as most people wouldn't dream of starting up a business without taking out insurance, company directors in particular shouldn't enter into a marriage - which, at the end of the day is a legally binding agreement - without agreeing a prenuptial agreement to protect both their company's assets and their own."