Van Elle founder fails in bid to rejoin board

The founder and former chairman of Nottinghamshire piling firm Van Elle has failed in his bid to rejoin the company’s board.

Van Elle held an EGM on the afternoon of Friday 15 December, after Ellis has publically questioned the running of the listed company, and had asked shareholders to vote him back on to the board and remove chief executive John Fenton, senior independent director Robin Williams, and fellow director from the board.

Fenton has since said he is leaving the company due to a serious family illness.

In the end, Ellis, who is understood to control about a fifth of Van Elle’s shares, saw around 98% of the remaining votes go against him.

In a statement, Adrian Barden, chairman of Van Elle, said: “The requisition has been an unnecessary and disruptive distraction. We are pleased that all of the resolutions have been comprehensively rejected by Shareholders.

“We can now get back to managing the business and delivering our long-term growth strategy for the benefit of all stakeholders.”