Speedy Hire Row Deepens As Investor Hits Back At Board Rejection

One of the City's feistiest battles descended into deeper acrimony on Thursday when a major shareholder in Speedy Hire (LSE: SDY.L - news) , the tool-hire specialist, accused it of issuing "a collection of questionable assertions, selective facts, and unsubstantiated claims".

Toscafund, which holds a 19.4% stake in Speedy Hire, said the company had been wrong to recommend that investors vote against the election of David Shearer, a corporate turnaround veteran, to its board.

The investor said other shareholders risked being misled by Speedy Hire's remarks that Mr Shearer had signalled he was unavailable to take up a board position when he had previously considered for a role.

"David is known for delivering shareholder value across many industries," Toscafund said.

"It is no surprise he is held in high regard by the City and as a result is regularly approached by headhunters to take on new roles."

Toscafund rejected Speedy Hire's argument that Mr Shearer was not independent, saying it had "not been introduced to any other situation by Toscafund either past or current in the last 12 months, and has not worked with Toscafund".

Mr Shearer's election has been backed by three major proxy voting advisors: Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis and PIRC.

"We see no reason to doubt Mr Shearer's independence and expect he would be a valuable asset in turning around the business of Speedy Hire," Glass Lewis said.

Schroders (Frankfurt: 929969 - news) , which owns nearly 10% of the shares, has also given its backing to Toscafund's efforts.

City sources said they believed that Mr Shearer was likely to gain the support of enough investors to join the board, although they added that it was likely to be "a close-run thing" at next week's special shareholder meeting.

The proxy advisers are not supporting the resolution to ditch Mr Astrand despite reservations over

Speedy Hire has argued that the disruption caused by the changes is unnecessary since its recovery is well underway - a fact disputed by Toscafund, which said:

"There is no proof a recovery is under way, given the share price has nearly halved since Jan Astrand's appointment as executive chairman in July 2015.

"The board of Speedy Hire has failed to demonstrate any real momentum in its recovery."

Another shareholder in Speedy Hire suggested that if Mr Shearer did get voted onto the board, it would represent a vote of no confidence in Mr Astrand even if he did not lose his job.