Rebellion over auditor

TELFORD Homes has suffered a major shareholder revolt over its decision to re-elect PwC as its auditor.

A total of 44pc voted against the auditor’s reappointment at the property developer’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

Advice group ISS had urged investors to vote against PwC due to concerns over failings in its work for IT firm Redcentric. PwC partner Arif Ahmad, Telford’s lead auditor, was fined £140,000 by the Financial Reporting Council after admitting several breaches of audit standards while working on Redcentric’s accounts. PwC itself had to pay a further £4.5m for the debacle, which saw Redcentric’s shares plunge by twothirds in a single day.