UBS says sues startup Vestra over contract breaches

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - UBS AG (UBSN.VX) is seeking an injunction against Vestra Wealth over breaches of contracts by senior employees leaving for the start-up rival, the Swiss bank said on Thursday.

"This legal action is to ensure that certain senior departing employees abide by the contractual obligations that they agreed to when they joined UBS," the bank said in a statement.

UBS, Europe's biggest casualty of the credit crunch, will appear in a London court on Friday to seek a "springboard" injunction against its former top private banker in Britain David Scott, who now heads Vestra, and four departing UBS employees, a source familiar with the matter said.

Such an injunction can stop departing employees from gaining an unfair advantage in setting up a rival business if they, for example, poach clients or staff.

In May, 18 private bankers left UBS for Vestra.

UBS Wealth Management in Britain has around 300 client advisers and roughly 37 billion pounds ($73.35 billion) in invested assets.

Scott previously led UBS's High Net Worth Wealth Management and Stockbroking divisions in Britain. (Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova; editing by Sue Thomas)