The great boohoo showdown – how things stand with one week to go
The battle for the reins of Manchester-headquartered fast fashion giant boohoo could be settled as soon as Wednesday next week when the proxy votes are registered ahead of a specially convened meeting called to attempt a boardroom coup by its largest shareholder, Frasers Group.
It will be known by then whether Frasers founder Mike Ashley has been successful in securing enough votes to gain a seat on the board for Mike Lennon and for Ashley to be installed as chief executive.
The Ashley and Kamani family camps have roughly 30% of shares in the bag.
But the odds currently appear to be in favour of the founding Kamani family, who secured the support of ISS and Glass Lewis.
A great deal will hinge on the largest shareholders in boohoo Schroder Investment Management which owns 7.11%; and Camelot Capital Partners which owns a 5.60% stake in Boohoo Group.
However, the fact that both sides are issuing almost daily missives on the issues appears to show that they don’t have the General Meeting sewn up.
That vote on the resolutions will be held at the offices of law firm Addleshaw Goddard in Manchester next Friday at 10.00 a.m.
It is likely that Ashley will turn up to the meeting to add to the ongoing drama if there is a chance the resolutions will pass.
The most recent salvo in the ongoing row had Tim Morris, boohoo Group Chair, saying they would not agree to Ashley and Lennon joining the board “in any circumstances”.
“The Board has consistently said that due to obvious conflict points and because of their historical ties to Frasers, Mike Ashley and Mike Lennon are not appropriate candidates to join the Board in any circumstances, whatever commitments are offered,” he said in a statement.
