Ex Stobart chief is booted off ballot paper to block his coup to get back on the board
The ex- boss of Stobart Group has been kicked off the ballot for re-election to the board as the fight for control of the company reaches boiling point.
Andrew Tinkler ( pictured) was fired as a non-executive director last month by Stobart – which owns Southend Airport – after starting a campaign to oust the chairman Iain Ferguson, 63.
The 54-year-old wanted to stay on the ballot for re- election at the company’s annual general meeting today so shareholders could vote on the firm’s decision.
But yesterday a Guernsey court backed the move to keep his name off the ballot while his legal battle in London against the company over his sacking continues.
however, he could still force a vote on his re-election by turning up at today’s meeting and forcing a resolution on the issue.
he served notice on the company last week saying he would propose himself for re-election at the meeting. It is not clear whether he will try to do so, as it is possible he could then be fired again immediately.
Today’s AGM in Saint Peter Port comes after an increasingly bitter row over the future of Stobart Group that has threatened to engulf the company.
Tinkler stepped down as chief executive last year to be replaced by Warwick Brady. he now wants to replace Ferguson as chairman with retail tycoon Philip Day, 52, amid a row over the company’s strategy.
The Cumbria-based millionaire was sacked from the board amid accusations he was subverting the company for his own interests and had tried to cash in £30m worth of shares. The row has dragged in some of the City’s biggest names, with fund manager neil Woodford backing Tinkler and Invesco backing Ferguson.
Fellow shareholder M&G has also leapt in, putting forward ex-Asda boss Allan Leighton as an interim chairman to defuse the row.
Shareholders are due to vote on Ferguson’s re-election today. They will then vote on Day’s appointment at a special meeting on July 18.
Today’s vote is set to be close. Tinkler owns nearly 8pc of the company while Woodford’s funds hold nearly 20pc and fellow rebel Allan Jenkinson, a former director, owns 5.5pc. But Ferguson- backing Invesco owns nearly 25pc.
Other top- ten shareholders declined to comment.
Tinkler was chief executive of Stobart Group for ten years, helping it grow out of the eddie Stobart haulage firm into a conglomerate worth around £800m.
The infrastructure group, which made profits of £100.6m last year, supplies biomass, maintains railways and provides other support services. Its subsidiary Stobart Air owns airlines Aer Lingus and Flybe.
William Stobart, who helped build the company alongside Tinkler, has said the board is running a vindictive campaign against him, which is damaging the firm’s reputation.
Tinkler said: ‘I want what’s best for the business and the employees that have worked so hard to deliver all that growth in shareholder value over the last ten years. employees have lost confidence in this board and want change. I hope that’s what they get.’
Following yesterday’s court judgment, a spokesman for Stobart Group said: ‘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.’