Stobart board room drama continues

Tuesday 10 July 2018

A brief reinstatement as a Stobart Group director saw its former chief executive swiftly removed by the company’s board.

The moves came after a bad-tempered and divisive AGM held in Guernsey’s St Pierre Park hotel last Friday.

Andrew Tinkler, who was fired from the company in June, had been attempting to oust its current CEO Iain Ferguson. With the company registered in Guernsey, the island has played host to the high-profile board room split, which included a legal challenge heard in the island's Royal Court. The case outcome was released just hours before the AGM, and saw Mr Tinker fail to be reinstated on the AGM’s ballot paper for re-election. Despite this loss, shareholders eventually proposed his election in any other business at the meeting. He barely won the vote, receiving 51.4% - still enough to get back onto board. The board however used their powers to remove him, with Iain Ferguson saying it was not in the company’s best interests for Mr Tinkler to remain.

Boyzone star Ronan Keating has also pledged his support to Mr Tinkler, describing the two as friends. “Absolutely disgraceful what they are saying about our friend [Mr Tinkler]. The company would not be where it is without him”, he tweeted last week.

Mr Ferguson only just survived the attempt on his stewardship of the company, with just over 49% of shareholders voting to get rid of him.

Mr Ferguson told UK media it was an “important day for corporate governance in the UK” for ensuring interests of all shareholders were  represented and protected. Having secured re-election, Mr Ferguson said uniting shareholders and progressing on the strategy to deliver more returns were top priorities.