Newcastle International Airport has confirmed that it will appeal against a High Court ruling clearing Eversheds of negligence over a refinancing deal which saw two airport chiefs secure multimillion-pound bonuses.

Former airport chief executive John Parkin and now-deceased finance director Lars Friis each received large payouts after Eversheds advised the pair on a £377m refinancing deal for the airport.

Airport bosses had alleged that the law firm was in breach of its duty when accepting the instruction; however, earlier this year the firm was found by a High Court judge to have acted in "good faith".

In a statement, the airport said: "After careful consideration regarding the recent High Court judgment in respect of its legal proceedings against Eversheds LLP, Newcastle International Airport Ltd has decided to appeal.

"Due to the legal nature of the additional action, Newcastle International Airport Limited is unable to comment further at this time."

Earlier this year, Nicholas Davidson QC of 4 New Square, instructed by Ward Hadaway partner Tim Toomey, argued that Eversheds should have notified the airport's independent remuneration committee that, due to the financial bonuses, the two directors had conflicting interests.

Furthermore, it was alleged that Eversheds should have checked with the committee that the instruction was correct when going on to amend the executives' employment contracts to include the bonus payments.

However, the judge ruled that committee chair Rosemary Radcliffe had been notified of the changes to the contracts but failed to read the detail, suggesting she had a "blindspot of massive proportions".

Eversheds instructed Clyde and Co partner Sarah Clover to defend the claims with representation coming from Ben Patten QC, also of 4 New Square. Eversheds declined to comment.