The Restaurant Group PLC (LSE:RTN is facing renewed criticism from an activist investor following the departure of chief financial officer Kirk Davis and the subsequent promotion of Mark Chambers.
Oasis Management, the Hong-Kong-based hedge fund which owns 14% of TRG, questioned Chambers’ appointment due to his previous work with chief executive Andy Hornby.
Chambers being promoted as finance chief despite not working in a financial role in a decade is “concerning”, according to the second-largest shareholder of the hospitality group.
Daniel Wosner, the head of Europe at Oasis, said: “The company appointed, in a matter of weeks, a candidate who has worked with the CEO at … other companies, and not in a CFO role.
“Was this truly a robust and healthy process to find the best candidate for the company?”
Chambers and Hornby worked together when Ladbrokes and Coral merged, now Entain PLC (LSE:ENT), from 2012 until 2019 when Hornby took up the hospitality firm’s head role.
A TRG spokesperson said: "In recent months we have received public support from a number of our leading long-term shareholders, enjoyed a positive start to the year, set out a clear three-year margin improvement plan and are firmly focused on delivery.”
The board switch-up comes after a tough annual general meeting piled pressure on Hornby along with chair Ken Hanna and remuneration head Zoe Morgan.
Votes for the three’s re-election and the firm’s remuneration policy received significant pushback, underlining concerns multiple shareholders have with the board.
Prior to the AGM, a handful of stakeholders took aim at issues such as Hornby’s pay packet, the poor share price performance post-pandemic and the struggling of non-core arms like its pub and concession divisions.