Sir Paul McCartney has offered £20 million to Heather Mills — and she in turn has said that she will accept £50 million, The Times has learnt.

The keenly awaited divorce settlement was predicted at one stage to result in the former Beatle paying as much as £100 to £200 million to his estranged wife.

But after recent court hearings the gap between the two is £30 million, with a likely final settlement for Ms Mills in the region of £25 to £30 million out of Sir Paul’s £825 million fortune.

Yet despite the relative closeness of the figures, the case could still be battled out in court.

It is listed for a five-day hearing next February, before Mr Justice Bennett, a family High Court judge, and some lawyers believe a pre-trial settlement is unlikely.

One lawyer said: “It could well go to trial because they are both quite stubborn.”

He added: “Five days is only a relatively short hearing but then the issues are fairly straightforward and it was a short marriage.”

Both Sir Paul, 65, and Ms Mills, 39, a former model, have lined up top legal teams, using the same lawyers who acted against each other in the divorce of the Prince of Wales and Diana, the Princess of Wales.

Sir Paul has hired Fiona Shackleton, known as the “steel magnolia”, from Payne Hicks Beach and who acted for Prince Charles; and Ms Mills has recruited Anthony Julius, of Mishcon de Reya, who acted for the Princess.

Neither would comment yesterday.

In February this year there was a flurry of speculation that a deal was imminent. But no agreement has yet been reached.

A factor in any deal will be adequate provision for the couple’s child, Beatrice.

Suzanne Kingston, family lawyer at Kingstons, a London law firm, said: “A settlement of £25 million or so would be much less than the sums people had been talking about but many lawyers would think that this was an appropriate figure.”

If the settlement was fought out in court, then a judge would list a range of factors, including length of the marriage, whether the assets were acquired before marriage or during it and the parties’ needs.

“In the case of Sir Paul, the bulk of the assets would have been acquired before the marriage and a judge might well decide therefore to discount those.”

She said that since the recent House of Lords case of Miller v Miller, a divorced wife in a short marriage could still obtain a large settlement.

Melissa Miller was awarded more than £5 million after a marriage of less than three years from her husband Alan’s estimated assets of £32 million.

But Ms Kingston said: “The key difference with the McCartneys is that there is a child and Sir Paul will have to ensure that there is proper provision for her.”

The McCartney divorce is not the only celebrity split in the news.

The former Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, has separated from his wife of four years, Claire. Some commentators have predicted she may be in line for as much as £10 million of his £25 million fortune.

Ms Kingston said: “People are already commenting on how an award of £10 million could be potentially unfair when the wealth is considered to be premarital and generated by Thierry Henry’s exceptional personal talent.”

Courts would be likely to take into account this factor, she added.

Parallels are already being drawn between this case and the divorce of Karen and Ray Parlour, Henry’s former team mate.

“But Karen Parlour was able to argue that she made a significant contribution to her husband’s lifestyle by ensuring that he stayed away from alcohol.

“Mrs Henry might find that more difficult to argue as the club manager, Arsène Wenger, is known to maintain a strict health and fitness regime.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk