FT Article Today - Nothing new here - Analyst Sentiment JB Wins23 Sep 2020 21:28
The incoming chief executive of Amigo Loans has quit the company over a disagreement with the board, days before the UK subprime lender faces a showdown with its founder.
Glen Crawford, who led Amigo between 2015 and 2019, announced in July that he would return to the company to help lead a turnround. However, on Wednesday, Amigo said Mr Crawford “no longer wishes to rejoin the board” and had terminated his contract with immediate effect following a “divergence of views with a majority of the board”.
Mr Crawford could not be reached for comment.
Gary Jennison, a turnround specialist who joined Amigo as a non-executive director last month, will take over as chief executive, subject to regulatory approval.
Mr Jennison said: “It’s fair to say that I like a tough challenge and, when it’s sorted, I take a lot of pride from the end result. Amigo is a business full of good people at all levels and working together we can sort this.”
Amigo, which specialises in guarantor loans for people with weak credit histories, grew rapidly in the run-up to its initial public offering in 2018, but has recently suffered from a sharp increase in customer complaints and faced growing scrutiny by the Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Ombudsman Service.
Its struggles have led to a long-running dispute between the board and Amigo’s outspoken founder, James Benamor. Mr Crawford’s “unexpected withdrawal” comes less than a week before Amigo shareholders vote on whether to oust its chairman and chief financial officer, and reappoint Mr Benamor.
Mr Benamor has repeatedly praised Mr Crawford, but the former chief executive previously said he would refuse to work with him. John Cronin, analyst at Goodbody, said his sudden exit “increases the likelihood that Benamor will be successful, because [Mr Crawford’s] threat to step down was one of the key reasons why Benamor was unlikely to receive support”.
Mr Benamor sold his 61 per cent stake in Amigo after losing an earlier vote to replace the board in June, but he has pledged to repurchase up to 29 per cent of the company if he is reelected next week. Shares in Amigo jumped 14 per cent in late trading on Wednesday.
Mr Benamor said on Twitter on Wednesday that he had not spoken to Mr Crawford about his departure.
“His resignation today is a surprise to me, however the reason for his resignation is not,” Mr Benamor wrote. “Glen tried to work with the board on a peaceful transition to good governance. It tried the same in January. It is a dead end.”
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