The executive chairman of Countrywide, which last week unexpectedly delayed delivering both its interim results and details of a new emergency fund-raise, came under fire at the weekend.
Chairman Peter Long, who took charge of the company and stepped into an executive role after the departure of CEO Alison Platt in January, is also chairman of Royal Mail.
Yesterday, the Mail on Sunday said that last Thursday’s results and rescue plan were not announced “because Long had been firefighting” at Royal Mail.
Long is paid £300,000 for chairing Royal Mail and £360,000 as executive chairman of Countrywide. He is also deputy chairman at travel group TUI, where last year he earned £187,000, although he has recently stepped down from the chairmanship of a Spanish leisure group.
Around 34% of Royal Mail investors opposed Long’s re-election as chairman at this month’s AGM, saying he was over-boarded. At Royal Mail there is also a 70% shareholder rebellion against the proposed pay of its new chief executive, who could earn up to £2.7m on top of a £6m golden hello. Rico Black intends to commute from Zurich.
Countrywide, said to have restructuring plans in place should a cash call on investors fail, will have to raise up to £125m – apparently to cover both the £100m it needs plus the associated costs.
In yesterday’s Mail, City editor Ruth Sunderland criticised both over-boarding and “the very busy Mr Peter Long”.
Sunderland said he should be defusing the row at Royal Mail, adding that it would be difficult for Long to tell Black he must be on hand at all times, given Long’s “own extensive outside interests”.
Sunderland said that these include Countrywide “which is in an unholy mess”.
Sunderland said of over-boarding that “no one, however brilliant, has the time to perform to full capacity in two very demanding positions, particularly when trouble hits”.
Countrywide said last week when postponing publication of its results and rescue plan that it would announce these by August 2.
This morning Countrywide shares open at around 48p, after a 4.37% slump on Friday.
Comments (5)
”Countrywide said last week when postponing publication of its results and rescue plan that it would announce these by August 2…”
…they hope, as the last copy of the rescue plan got ‘lost’ in the post.
Countrywide will (almost inevitably) break up in to small businesses at some point, it’s a behemoth in a shrinking, digital biased property market.
PB shares are back to Feb 2017 prices (still 10 times over priced in my opinion) which demonstrates again that really big companies are a bit like the NHS, over staffed with too many chiefs all trying to climb that greasy pole and back stab.
Just my opinion mind !
I now have a chairman, a busy one. I regard a chairman a bit liked the captain of a ship, they appear on deck, cast an eye and only need to shout if things aren’t as their experienced eye tells them they should be.
There are good people at Countrywide who know what needs doing, best let them get on with it rather than worry what the Captain is up to! If the ship hits to rocks he was wrong, if it doesn’t he was right.
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If it wasn’t for bad news CWD wouldn’t have any. Don’t think this is going to end well is it. Oh don’t forget Mr Long is currently earning TWICE his current salary of 180k until a new CEO is appointed so since January he has pocketed around an additional 90k bonus by my reckoning for a part-time role. Nice work if you can get it!
Foxtons posting a LOSS this morning in their half year report coupled with the news regarding the demise of the 50 year old Howard Cundey network must have arrived like a lead balloon to CWD as they are doing the rounds of the City looking for a £100m whip . Long, must have raised an eyebrow at the word “hybrid” mindful of CWD venture into this territory..
However should imagine the old bullfighter Long has probably got very little to do with the financing ,consigned to the boardroom with a decanter of port being wheeled out by Oaktree where appropriate to front things up.