Topps Tiles PLC (LSE:TPT) is facing pressure from its largest shareholder to oust its chairman and install two of its representatives on the board.
MSG, which owns 29.9% of the UK’s biggest tile retailer, made the calls via a requisition notice to the company.
It proposed Darren Shapland be removed from his position as non-executive chairman with immediate effect and that Lidia Wolfinger and Michael Bartusiak be appointed non-executive directors.
But the company said the resolutions were not “in the best interests of the company.”
MSG also owns Polish tile producer Cersanit and has been building its holding in Topps since May 2020, when it bought a 4.1% stake.
Cersanit supplies less than 1% Topps’ tiles, but MSG wants this to rise to nearly 30%.
Topps rejected the proposal, which it said is a ‘conflict of interest’ between what is best for shareholders and MSG’s desire to sell more tiles.
Topps added that it does not buy more than 10% of its tiles from any single supplier, to avoid market disruption.
The AGM will take place on 18 January when the proposals will be put forward to shareholders.
Shapland said he and the rest of the board ‘strongly reject’ the proposals, and have the backing of more than a third of remaining shareholders.