Vestra, the start-up accused of attempting to hijack UBS’s UK wealth management arm, suffered a further blow after one of those leading the move decided to stay with the Swiss bank.

The about turn by David Guild, one of UBS’s senior private bankers in the UK, comes little more than a week after the Swiss bank won a High Court injunction barring Vestra from approaching its staff or clients. Mr Guild was one of four UBS managers named in a lawsuit along with Vestra and its founder, David Scott, accusing the breakaway group of conducting an unlawful conspiracy.

He was accused by UBS of acting as a recruiting sergeant on behalf of Mr Scott and of misleading UBS management to cover up the plot’s existence. A spokeswoman for UBS confirmed that Mr Guild and another employee, Keith Merrick, an adviser, had withdrawn their resignations and would continue to work at the bank. Sources familiar with the case said that Vestra had been surprised at the court’s decision to award the injunction and that many of the departing employees were now anxious about Vestra’s prospects. According to evidence submitted during the injunction hearing, the departing Vestra employees believed that UBS was no longer committed to its UK wealth management operation and was attempting to sell it to Barclays.

UBS was stunned on May 19 when 52 employees, including 18 client advisers, resigned to join Vestra, followed later by a further 23 staff. UBS claimed its UK wealth management arm had been left “devastated” by the departures.

Mr Guild was a member of the management committee of UBS Wealth Management UK before he resigned to join Vestra on May 19. His notice was set to expire on August 10. He joined UBS when it acquired Laing & Cruikshank in 2004 and, according to court documents seen by The Times, received £3.28 million for his shares in the British stockbroker.

Mr Justice Openshaw ruled this month that UBS had presented a “formidable” case suggesting that Mr Scott, aided by insiders such as Mr Guild, had led a coordinated campaign over several months to woo its staff and clients unlawfully. The full trial is set to go ahead in October, although Mr Guild will now be dropped as a defendant.

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