R&Q has won the support of another key investor as it fights to prevent the removal of its Executive Chairman, William Spiegel, following its failed acquisition by Brickell PC Insurance Holdings and a perceived downturn in fortunes since then.
Slater Investments, which holds 11.73% of the outstanding ordinary shares in R&Q, has joined the list of names to say they do not support the resolutions put forward by Phoenix Asset Management Partners Limited, and has confirmed that it will vote against them at the upcoming special general meeting.
Phoenix, which owns around 12% of shares in the firm, has asked shareholders to remove Spiegel as a Director and to replace him with R&Q’s founder and former executive chairman Ken Randall, citing a deterioration in the performance of the business under Spiegel’s leadership.
The call came after Brickell, which is backed by private investment firm 777 Partners, said it had “lost confidence in the ability of R&Q to deliver on its potential under its current leadership” since the collapse of its £482 million deal to acquire the company.
Despite the deal being twice rejected by shareholders, Brickell and its affiliates continue to maintain a 23.2% shareholding in R&Q, and have supported R&Q as a shareholder since 2019, including providing in excess of $105 million of equity funding to R&Q since 2020.
Since then, further R&Q investor have come forward to publicly declare support either for or against the proposal by Phoenix, while the Board of R&Q has also put its support firmly behind Spiegel to continue in his position, arguing that a change in leadership would “run counter to the wishes of shareholders as a whole.”
In addition to Slater, R&Q has gained backing from Abrdn, which holds a 6.2% stake in the firm, Vida, which holds a 9% stake, and JO Hambro, which holds a roughly 5% stake. And another top ten investor has also released a statement backing R&Q, saying that the proposed change do not “go in the direction of best corporate governance practices.”
The statement also said the anonymous investor “fully supports the appointment of new independent non-executive chairman and an additional independent non-executive director. If a group of shareholders wants to take control of the company, they should bid for it at a fair valuation.”
Further to its refutation of the Phoenix proposals, Slater stated that it was “delighted” by the appointment of Robert Legget as a Senior Non-Executive Director.
“We are delighted that Robert Legget has been appointed as Senior Non-Executive Director,” the company said. “We have the highest regard for Robert having worked with him previously. We also note the intention to appoint a new Non-Executive Chair. We believe that their appointments are the best way to address the governance of the business.”
