Friday 06 July 2018 12:51 pm

Guernsey court rules against former Stobart Group boss ahead of today’s crunch vote

A court in Guernsey ruled against former Stobart Group boss Andrew Tinkler yesterday in advance of a crunch vote today that will decide the future of the company.

The court rejected Tinkler’s attempt to bring an injunction against the board of Southend Airport owner Stobart Group which had barred him from standing for election at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) after he was fired from the board last month.

A spokesperson for the Stobart Group said the ruling “affirms the company’s position that Andrew Tinkler cannot stand for re-election as a director at the AGM in circumstances where he has been removed as a director. The board has a duty to ensure to act in the interests of all shareholders and maintain the high standards of corporate governance that it has established over the last four years.”

Tinkler said: “Injunctions like this are extremely rare but our claim was about a fundamental principle – the right of shareholders to choose, a concept the chairman seems unable to grasp.”

The ruling comes ahead of today’s AGM in Guernsey that will help decide the future of the business.

Its chair Iain Ferguson is up for re-election but faces opposition from 7.7 per cent shareholder Tinkler and his ally fund manager Neil Woodford, who owns shares in the firm via Woodford Investment Management.

Ferguson is supported by chief executive Warwick Brady and also the company’s largest shareholder Invesco, which holds 24.8 per cent of the business.

Tinkler has in turn backed an alternative candidate, Edinburgh Woollen Mill chair Philip Day, who will stand for election at a later extraordinary general meeting.

Yesterday Tinkler said: “I want what’s best for the business and the employees that have worked so hard to deliver exceptional growth in shareholder value over the last ten years. Employees have lost confidence in this board and want change so I hope that’s what we get.”