A group of senior businessmen — including Angus Grossart and Brian Souter — are among investors seeking to join a lawsuit against Royal Bank of Scotland alleging they were misled over its massive rights issue in 2008, according to sources and court documents, Reuters reported.

Former RBS vice chairman Grossart and Stagecoach founder Souter have applied to join the case seeking about £200,000 in damages, documents filed at a London court show, Reuters said.

The civil lawsuit, due to start in May, has been brought by investors who bought shares in a 2008 rights issue and lost most of their money when the bank collapsed a few months later.

RBS was rescued by the UK government in a £45.5 billion bailout.

Investors allege RBS did not present a true picture of its finances at the time of the rights issue.

RBS denies allegations that it misled investors.

Grossart and Souter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“RBS’s consistent position has been that shareholders that have issued claims after the June 2014 limitation date are not eligible to claim and that it will defend all such claims on that basis,” RBS said in a statement.

On December 5 last year, RBS said it agreed a “full and final settlement” with three out of the five shareholder groups involved in the litigation surrounding the bank’s ill-fated £12 billion shareholder rights issue in 2008.