LSE chairman survives vote but Hohn refuses to yield

SIR CHRISTOPHER HOHN is refusing to give up his fight over the London Stock Exchange’s boardroom, even after 79pc of shareholders voting at an extraordinary meeting yesterday opposed his bid to force the chairman Donald Brydon to step down.

The hedge fund billionaire, one of the largest shareholders in the LSE, wrote to the board after the meeting, demanding that a search for a new chairman start “immediately”.

He said that the vote demonstrated Mr Brydon no longer commanded the “overwhelming support” of shareholders, adding that other shareholders had privately expressed a desire to see a succession plan.

A spokesman for the LSE said that none of the large shareholders had expressed that view in meetings.

Sir Christopher has been calling for Mr Brydon’s exit since chief executive Xavier Rolet resigned in October. He is convinced the Frenchman was pushed out against his will, and Mr Brydon should leave over his handling of the situation.

However, the board has pushed back against what it has dubbed a “highly personalised campaign”. Mr Rolet left a year earlier than planned as a result of the escalating row, and Mr Brydon said he would not stand for re-election in 2019.

Yesterday’s vote also prompted an unusual intervention from Andrew Bailey, the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, saying that it expected “everyone” to now support an “orderly” succession at the LSE. In a statement released after the meeting, Mr Bailey said: “The FCA has a statutory objective to ensure the integrity of the markets it regulates. Today’s vote should now lead to an orderly process of succession of the CEO and then the chair of the LSE as set out by the board. It is important that everyone supports and contributes positively to that process.”