(Alliance News) - DX Group PLC shares were down on Monday, after it confirmed that a legal claim was lodged by a rival logistics company last week.
Shares in the Buckinghamshire, England-based logistics company were down 7.0% to 27.66 pence each in London on Monday morning. The remains up 13% over the past 12 months.
DX Group confirmed that on Friday it received a legal claim from Sheffield-based logistics company Tuffnell Parcels Express in relation to confidential competitor information being obtained by DX in the past.
The statement followed a story in the Sunday Times about an "extraordinary corporate espionage claim lodged in the High Court".
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/50-bribes-and-a-man-named-pat-corporate-spying-row-erupts-at-dx-group-gtr8ll0jr
DX on Monday said the claim was subject to a corporate governance inquiry and internal investigation by DX, which it had disclosed back in September of last year.
At the time, DX said it planned to "draw a line under past events" and name three independent non-executive directors to its audit & risk committee. It also pledged to appoint a 'big four' professional services firm to review its compliance policies and procedures.
DX in November 2021 announced its plans for an internal investigation. In February 2022, Grant Thornton resigned as its auditor, citing concerns about the findings of the corporate governance probe.
DX said the probe found that "confidential competitor information" was obtained, in exchange for an offer of payment.
"As such, the investigation concluded that there may have been a breach of the Bribery Act 2010 by the employees concerned and that remedial work was required by the group to improve compliance procedures and to mitigate the risk of potential future incidents," DX explained.
At a corporate governance level, DX found that there were efforts to stifle the investigation and some of the employees found to have potentially engaged in bribery were not properly punished.
On Monday, DX Group said: "The group intends to defend its position robustly and will respond to the claim in due course."
It continued: "As matters are now subject to legal proceedings, the company will not provide further comment until the appropriate time."
DX Group said it will report interim results for the 26 weeks ended December 31 on February 27.
By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter
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