The activist investor who forced out the previous chairman of De La Rue, the crisis-hit banknote printer, has accused its board of “a wasted opportunity” after it named a turnaround veteran as his successor.
Speaking to Sky News, the Crystal Amber executive Richard Bernstein said the decision to appoint Clive Whiley rather than the billionaire financier Nat Rothschild was a mistake.
It emerged this week that leading City shareholders in De La Rue were pushing its board to hire Mr Rothschild, who has transformed the fortunes of the listed industrials group Volex.
On Thursday morning, the company said Mr Whiley, whose candidacy was also revealed by Sky News, would take over from Kevin Loosemore.
It said Mr Whiley was “capable of operating in all operational, financial or regulatory circumstances”.
“Accordingly, the board believes that Clive’s breadth and depth of experience and skills are what is required to pilot the business.”
Mr Bernstein did not criticise Mr Whiley personally but said: “Having someone of Nat’s commercial acumen and entrepreneurship would have immediately injected confidence.
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“Nat is practical and a man of action, not words.
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“This is a wasted opportunity not to involve a leader who already had a clear plan to rejuvenate a business that has suffered greatly over many years from poor management.”
Crystal Amber has fought a long-running battle with De La Rue, in which it owns a stake of about 10%.
The company has performed disastrously, lavishing big pay packages on its executives despite being forced to issue a string of profit warnings.
It was only persuaded to withdraw its demand for an EGM to replace Mr Loosemore with Pepijn Dinandt, an industrialist, when the incumbent agreed to fall on his sword.
Many shareholders now believe De La Rue is vulnerable to a low-ball takeover offer, with the likes of American rival Crane NXT frequently touted as a potential bidder.
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The London-listed company has seen its shares slump by two-thirds over the last year, and now has a market value of less than £80m.
It raised £100m from a share sale in July 2020.
Last month, Sky News revealed that De La Rue had requested breathing space from its pension trustees by delaying nearly £20m of retirement funding payments.
Controversially, it also criticised its auditor, EY, for including a going concern warning in its accounts.
Shares in De La Rue were trading about 2% higher on Thursday morning.
