The M&C Saatchi (SAA) board is in tatters after founder Maurice Saatchi quit alongside the company’s three non-executive directors.
Last week, an accounting review found M&C Saatchi had got its numbers wrong over a period of years and the company issued a profit warning. The accounting issues came up in a review of the books by PwC, and will lead to adjustments of £11.6m, spread between the 2018 and 2019 results. This had been flagged in the half-year results released in September but the total figure was around £6m higher than previously thought.
Following this latest bout of bad news executive directors David Kershaw, Bill Muirhead and Jeremy Sinclair each bought 415,323 shares in the company at 79.7p, taking their overall holding to 14.8 per cent collectively. The three have now each overtaken Maurice Saatchi's 4.5 per cent stake. The company’s share price plunged after the accounting review announcement, falling by 46 per cent to 79p. The resignations of Lord Saatchi and the non-executive directors did not have the same effect, causing a 4 per cent drop after the share price had returned to over 100p.
Chairman Jeremy Sinclair did not address Lord Saatchi’s exit in his statement, but said the board would be reconstructed and be handed a new task. “This new board will have a mandate to conduct a full review of all aspects of our governance,” he said.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Anglo Pacific | Graeme Dacomb | 4 Dec 19 | 5,000 | 180 | 9,000 | 25,000 | 0.010 |
| Future | Zillah Byng-Thorne (ceo) | 3 Dec 19 | 11,962 | 12.54 | 150,003 | 462,015 | 0.47 |
| Future | Penny Ladkin-Brand (cfo) | 3 Dec 19 | 7,974 | 12.54 | 99,994 | 519,666 | 0.53 |
| Intermediate Capital | Michael Nelligan | 3 Dec 19 | 6,576 | 1548.18 | 101,808 | 150,000 | 0.051 |
| Iomart | Richard Masters | 2 Dec 19 | 3,000 | 354.5 | 10,635 | 3,000 | 0.003 |
| Iomart♥ | Richard Masters | 2 Dec 19 | 3,000 | 354.5 | 10,635 | 6,000 | 0.006 |
| M&C Saatchi | Jeremy Sinclair (ch) | 4 Dec 19 | 415,323 | 79.7 | 331,012 | 4,579,697 | 4.920 |
| M&C Saatchi | David Kershaw (ceo) | 4 Dec 19 | 415,323 | 79.7 | 331,012 | 4,579,697 | 4.920 |
| M&C Saatchi | Bill Muirhead | 4 Dec 19 | 415,323 | 79.7 | 331,012 | 4,579,697 | 4.920 |
| Reach | Jim Mullen (ceo) | 3 Dec 19 | 100,000 | 100 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 0.033 |
| U&I | Richard Upton | 3 Dec 19 | 12,751 | 149 | 18,999 | na | na |
| U&I | Richard Upton | 28 Nov 19 | 76,027 | 149 | 113,280 | na | na |
| Ten Lifestyle | Alan Donald (cfo) | 3 Dec 19 | 25,000 | 119 | 29,750 | 75,000 | 0.090 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Avast | Ulf Claesson | 4 Dec 19 | 500,000 | 434.4087 | 2,172,044 | 1,710,098 | 0.17 |
| Amigo Loans† | Stephan Wilcke (ch) | 28-29 Nov 19 | 1,800,000 | 63.5895 | 1,144,611 | 10,155,613 | 2.137 |
| Amigo Loans†† | Naynesh Patel | 28-29 Nov 19 | 703,514 | 65.3754 | 459,925 | 1,460,000 | 0.307 |
| Boohoo | Mahmud Kamani (ch) | 9 Dec 19 | 35,000,000 | 285 | 99,750,000 | 152,679,880 | 13.100 |
| Boohoo | Carol Kane | 9 Dec 19 | 15,000,000 | 285 | 42,750,000 | 31,330,421 | 2.700 |
| Kainos | Richard McCann (cfo and coo) | 29 Nov 19 | 1,500,000 | 580 | 8,700,000 | 4,711,582 | 3.880 |
| Londonmetric | Patrick Vaughan | 28 Nov 19 | 400,000 | 236.2 | 944,800 | 11,200,000 | 1.331 |
| *Placing/tender/open offer/right issue ♥Spouse/connected party | |||||||
| †Shares sold by Stephan Wilcke ahead of a personal tax liability due in 2020 | |||||||
| ††Shares sold by Naynesh Patel ahead of a personal tax liability due in 2020 | |||||||
