RE: https://scrapthggoldenshare.com/about-us25 Sep 2022 09:17
Oliver Shah - The Times - Moulding's golden oldie
Matt Moulding's self-awareness didn't seem to blossom over the summer.
The founder of creaking e-commerce construct THG, formerly The Hut Group, returned from his break and posted an Instagram video. Set to Sam Smith's Money on My Mind (lyrics: "I don't have money on my mind / I do it for the love"), it showed his family splashing around in a sun-kissed location before announcing: "Back to the grind."
Sure enough, normal service was resumed a fortnight later, when the latest sales and profits warning knocked shares in THG once again. At 40p, they are now down more than 90 per cent from their 2020 float price.
Many shareholders are nearing a sense of humour failure, especially after the dismissal of takeover offers at 170p in May Broker Liberum cut its price target from 380p to 45p this month, with a sum-of-the-parts target of 236p making a break-up look appealing.
Meanwhile, some investors are frustrated that Moulding shows no sign of relinquishing his "golden share", which, in
effect, gives him total control, despite having promised to do so almost a year ago. They think this governance boo-boo is hanging over the share price.
A small group is preparing an online petition. Draft wording circulating suggests scrapTHGgoldenshare.com will tell Moulding to give it up "immediately, without delay". If he doesn't, the group aims to "use the power of the holders
together to help effect this change".
Sources close to THG insist that its boss still intends to drop the golden share and move to a premium stock market listing this year. He has three months to deliver a story shareholders would welcome
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