MARKET REPORT: Pressure grows on Hut Group to axe chairman By John Abiona Updated: 22:02, 10 June 2024 e-mail View comments With the annual general meeting (AGM) season in full swing, there are bound to be several ding-dongs between companies and their shareholders. Among them is the bubbling row over the future of The Hut Group (THG) – with pressure mounting on the online beauty and nutrition firm to ditch its chairman. Kelso Group had led calls for shareholders to vote against the re-election of Charles Allen – the former chief executive of Compass Group (down 1.
5 per cent, or 33p, to 2207p) and ITV (down 1.1 per cent, or 0.85p, to 78.
2p) – at THG’s AGM on June 24. But the activist investor’s demand has been backed by Dutch investment firm OVMK, which holds a near-2 per cent stake. Both shareholders have called for THG to be broken up, arguing management should spin off its beauty, nutrition and e-commerce arms into separate companies.
Investor discontent: Pressure is mounting on online beauty and nutrition firm The Hut Group to ditch its chairman and spin off its beauty, nutrition and e-commerce arms THG floated at 500p a share in September 2020, valuing the business at £5.4billion. Kelso believes that the value of the three divisions is significantly higher than the £928million the company is currently worth.
Last week THG founder Matt Moulding has raised his stake in Kelso Group for the third time this year. Shares edged up 0.6 per cent, or 0.
45p, to 70.25p. .
