Purplebricks Group PLC (AIM:PURP) saw its shares drop 8% in morning trade on Tuesday as the firm announced that major shareholder Axel Springer's representative, Ait Voncke, has stood down from the UK company's board.
Voncke was appointed to the board as a representative of Germany's Axel Springer SE, a 26.5% shareholder in the company, in July 2022.
Following commencement of a strategic review announced by the tech-led estate agency business on 17 February 2023, Axel Springer and the company have been considering the regulatory and governance expectations around equality of information between shareholders during an offer period, Purplebricks said.
After reviewing the position, Axel Springer has concluded that it will not maintain a board representative for the time being, the company added. Accordingly, Voncke has stood down from his position as a director of the company with effect from 6 March 2023, for the time being. Axel Springer retains a contractual right to appoint a representative to the board of Purplebricks at its discretion.
In a statement, Voncke, CEO of AVIV Group, said: "Axel Springer is fully supportive of the strategic review and formal sale process being undertaken by the Purplebricks board. We are confident this review and process will benefit stakeholders and support the long-term growth of the business."
In early morning trading in London, shares in Purplebricks were 8.4% lower at 8.70p.