Athelney Trust PLC Letter to Shareholders (1576T)
March 18 2019 - 5:05AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMATY
RNS Number : 1576T
Athelney Trust PLC
18 March 2019
Dear Fellow Shareholders
I am writing to you ahead of the Annual General Meeting on 3
April 2019 when we will all be voting on resolutions required in
terms of the Companies Act and a few that I have proposed. The
purpose of this letter is to explain my reasons for the additional
agenda items and why I believe we should remove the current Board
in its entirety, appoint Simon to the Board and definitely not
authorise the issue of any shares by the current directors.
In essence my rationale for these recommendations is based on
the following observations:
-- There is zero alignment of interest between the current
directors, Gresham House (who recommended their appointment) and
the shareholders of Athelney. Gresham House clearly have their own
agenda to pursue and none of the current directors' have taken the
time to acquaint themselves with the other Athelney shareholders as
Simon Moore had done during his brief stint as a director and
Chairman. Furthermore, as far as I am aware, neither Gresham House
nor any of the current directors own any shares in Athelney, a
requirement in any small company to ensure alignment of
interest.
-- Athelney has always been an extremely well-run Investment
Trust with a low-cost structure and a compliance regime suitable
for a small company. It would appear that the current directors
have increased the cost base with increased travel and consultant
fees, using corporate governance as the reason which is modern
parlance for a complete lack of experience in the running of the
relevant business.
-- In a recent Royal Commission into the Financial Services
Industry, Justice Haynes found that the poor performance of
financial institutions was due to a failure at Board level to
ensure an appropriate culture, governance structure and
remuneration system. While he confirmed that Boards of Companies
are responsible to shareholders, they also have an obligation to
all stakeholders such as employees, service providers and customers
and more importantly, in the execution of their duties the Boards
cannot and must not involve themselves in the day to day management
of the Corporation. The current board, in spite of having no
meaningful funds management experience, have on a number of
occasions attempted to interfere in both stock selection and asset
selection, both of which are not the responsibility of the board
but of the investment manager, not only contractually but also as
indicated by Justice Haynes as a requirement to ensure good
corporate governance.
-- Athelney has always had a culture best described as one of a
personalised touch, provided not only by Robin Boyle but also by
John Girdlestone and his team at GW & Co. The current
sidelining by the Board of GW & Co with the clear intention of
replacing them by a larger firm, implies that their many years of
amazing service to Athelney actually means nothing. I find this
disgraceful, destroying the firm culture and also contrary to the
findings of Justice Haynes.
-- Simon Moore has a long career in investment trusts and has a
strong reputation in the sector. He will bring a deep understanding
of Athelney Trust, fellow shareholders, other stakeholders and the
technical details required of running an investment trust, all of
which the current board lack.
-- I have made an offer to Robin to work with Simon and I over
the next two years to bring about an orderly transition and have
received no response.
The annual report contains a detailed explanation of our
approach to investing. In addition, I urge shareholders to google
my name to see what I stand for and what I have accomplished. I
hope you will consider what I have to say and vote as I
suggest.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Manny Pohl B.Sc (Eng), MBA, DBA, FAICD, MSAFAA, F Fin
4 March 2019
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END
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