Yahoo Finance Revolution Beauty gives directors £3m in shares despite majority vote to oust them
Revolution Beauty has given its bosses shares worth £3m despite a majority vote to oust them.
The company’s chief executive Bob Holt, finance chief Elizabeth Lake and other senior executives will receive a combined windfall of more than 11 million shares worth almost £3m (based on the company’s share price on Wednesday afternoon of 26p) for restoring the firm’s listing after an accounting scandal which resulted in its suspension from the stock market.
However, it comes as Mr Holt and Ms Lake, as well as Revolution Beauty chairman Derek Zissman, were sacked from the company’s board on Tuesday amid a campaign from rival retailer Boohoo, which has built up a 26pc stake in the company.
Boohoo has been heaping pressure on Revolution Beauty to replace its management. It wants to install its own non-executive director, former New Look chairman Alistair McGeorge as interim executive chairman and Boohoo’s former finance chief, Neil Catto, as chief financial officer.
More than 73pc of votes cast at the company’s annual general meeting supported the removal of Mr Holt, Ms Lake and Mr Zissman, with Boohoo accounting for many of these votes. Despite this, the trio was quickly reinstated by the remaining independent director Jeremy Schwartz.
Mr Schwartz said: “I had to consider my duties as a director, and act in what I genuinely believed to be in the best interests of the Company, for the benefit of its members as a whole.”
Boohoo said it was pleased to see the listing restored but criticised the restoration of the directors and their remuneration.
It said: “It is notable that at no point did the remuneration committee seek prior shareholder consultation, or approval in relation to these awards, again contravening best practice in relation to corporate governance.”
Revolution Beauty has hit back at Boohoo’s campaign, telling investors last week: “The board believes that Boohoo’s hostile requisition is value-destructive, opportunistic and self-serving, as well as not being in the interests of the company’s shareholders as a whole.”
Boohoo’s 26pc shareholding is close to the threshold of 30pc that would necessitate a mandatory takeover bid.
Revolution Beauty was founded by Adam Minto and Tom Allsworth in 2014, and has grown into a global brand that sells makeup, skincare and hair products.
It floated on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in 2021, valuing the company at just under £500m and netting its founders a windfall in the millions.
However, in 2022 auditors raised questions about the company’s finances and launched an investigation, refusing to sign off on accounts.
Earlier this year, it was found that it had made sales to distributors too close to the end of the financial year to the tune of £9m.
Revolution Beauty has said it has written to Mr Minto, who stepped down from the company in November 2022, claiming he breached his duties to the company.
It has not yet received a “substantive response” from Minto or his legal representatives.
Shares in Revolution Beauty surged as much as 40pc on Wednesday as they returned to trading.
