Shareholders plan revolt against Purplebricks

Hybrid property platform, Purplebricks, seems to be experiencing a shareholder revolt in the coming weeks as the company's annual general meeting (AGM) because of bonuses paid to senior management.

The Sunday Times says the shareholder advisory service ISS is urging investors in the troubled hybrid agency to vote against the management’s financial statements at its AGM. 

ISS says the firm's management incentive awards are not “subject to any performance hurdles.”  

Purplebricks told the Sunday Times that it needed to “attract and retain the appropriate calibre of individual” and that its executives were “not especially well paid.”

Former Chief Executive Michael Bruce is reported to have received £273,000 last year: documents going to shareholders are likely to include details of other payments to past and present executives at the agency.

Long term investors in the agency will have seen a roller coaster share price ride - most recently in a broadly downwards direction.

Having launched to the London Stock Exchange at 100p a share almost four years ago, in December 2015, the price reached its highest ever level of 498.5p in late July 2017 before a long slide downwards; it recently closed at 111.8p.

Earlier this month the beleaguered Fund Manager Neil Woodford reduced his interest in the company from 19.25 percent to 17.64 percent. As recently as early June Woodford owned almost 29 percent.

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