Inland Homes shares plunge after chairman and directors exit
The value of shares in Inland Homes has dropped by around 16% this afternoon following a spate of top-level resignations, which included its chairman.
Inland chairman Simon Bennett departed alongside non-executive directors Carol Duncumb and Brian Johnson earlier today, with immediate effect. Inland’s shares fell to 8.5p ahead of market close.
The company said it had become “aware of certain related party issues” that the board was “not informed [of] at the relevant times”. It added that those issues may be treated as “related party transactions” under stock exchange rules and that it is collating the relevant details.
The value of shares in Inland Homes has dropped by around 16% this afternoon following a spate of top-level resignations, which included its chairman.
Inland chairman Simon Bennett departed alongside non-executive directors Carol Duncumb and Brian Johnson earlier today, with immediate effect. Inland’s shares fell to 8.5p ahead of market close.
The company said it had become “aware of certain related party issues” that the board was “not informed [of] at the relevant times”. It added that those issues may be treated as “related party transactions” under stock exchange rules and that it is collating the relevant details.
Meanwhile, Inland said it plans to reappoint founder and former chief executive Stephen Wicks, who resigned in September last year, to its board given the departures would leave it short of a required minimum of two directors.
Wicks told EG: “All I can say is that due to the deterioration of Inland’s financial performance and share price since I stepped down, I am going to be reappointed as chief executive and hope to reverse its fortunes as quickly as possible.
“We are looking for a new non-executive chairman to strengthen the board in the near future. I am unable to comment on the circumstances that surrounded the departure of the previous board but it is business as usual at Inland.”
Bennett will stay on as a non-executive director for a maximum period of two weeks while the company formalises an additional appointment, so that Inland can meet the minimum requirement of two directors.
If Inland fails to meet the requirement, its shares will be suspended. However, the developer said this is an “unlikely scenario”.
Bennett’s resignation will become effective upon the appointment of another director to the board by close of business on 14 March.
The news comes after the group delayed its results for the financial year ending 30 September, citing that its auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers needed more time to finalise the accounts. An update is expected in the coming weeks.
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