Provvy chief leads job hunt

PROVIDENT Financial’s boss has been landed with a major distraction by one of his other lucrative posts just as he fights off a hostile takeover bid.

Malcolm Le May – who is leading the doorstep lender’s efforts to fend off rival non-Standard Finance (nSF) – has been tasked with recruiting a chairman at trading company IG Group, where he is senior independent non-executive director.

It is likely to raise questions over whether the 61-year-old is overstretched.

As senior director at IG, Le May is paid £90,000 a year, on top of the £1.4m he earned from the Provvy in 2018.

The former investment banker is also a partner at two unlisted firms – Juno Capital and opus Corporate Finance.

IG chairman Andy Green will step down in September after five years in charge.

The company said Le May will lead its nominations committee in the search for a replacement, a job likely to involve hiring a headhunter.

nSF is seeking to seize control of the Provvy in a hostile bid, and already has the backing of its target’s three biggest investors. The boss of nSF, John van Kuffeler, was previously chief executive of the Provvy and has claimed its current managers do not understand the business.

Last week nSF was forced to admit it had made accounting errors over dividend payments, dealing a blow to van Kuffeler’s credibility. In a note to investors, analysts at stockbroker Goodbody said the mistake could spark concern that van Kuffeler will not get regulators’ approval to run the Provvy.