As the Boaty McBoatface swizz proved, votes do not always go the way those in authority would like.
Stock Spirits Group PLC (LON:STCK), the flavoured vodka specialist that somehow failed to make money last year selling vodka to the Poles, is concerned its shareholders will not toe the party line when they vote on at the resolutions at the annual general meeting.
It may have bowed to shareholder pressure by hastening chief executive officer Chris Heath into retirement yesterday, but it is not happy about the resolutions put forward by major shareholder Western Gate.
Western Gate is the investment vehicle of Portuguese businessman Luis Amaral, who is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of Eurocash, Stock Spirits' biggest customer in Poland.
It has proposed two people it wants to see added to the board as non-executive directors, but Stock Spirits argues that the interests of Stock Spirits and Eurocash are far from aligned.
Luis Amaral wants to gain undue influence at the expense of other shareholders, Stock Spirits said in a circular to its shareholders.
It also accused Amaral of being interested in chasing market share without worrying about profitability.
"We would ask that shareholders consider carefully the circular that we have published today and would recommend that they vote against the resolutions put forward by Western Gate which are disruptive and detrimental,” said David Maloney, chairman of Stock Spirits.
Talking of chief executives moving on, Geoff Thompson, CEO of Utilitywise plc is soon to take on a new gig at the company: executive chairman.
This seems an entirely more voluntary change than Heath's hasty retirement at Stock Spirits, and will enable Thompson to focus on strategy at the utility cost management consultancy.
It sounds like the company has a top notch replacement CEO lined up but it can't say who it is yet.
Amryt Pharma PLC (LON:AMYT), a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the orphan drugs market, started trading on Aim and the ESM branch of the Irish stock exchange this morning.
Proactive Investors regulars might know it better as Fastnet Equity, once an oil exploration company.
The company raised £10mln in fresh capital by placing shares at 24p each and, happily for those that acquired the shares, the stock currently has a bid-offer spread of 24p/26p, meaning they are holding stead.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd (LON:GKP) revealed today that its annual reports and accounts are in the post. It is unlikely that news is responsible for the 17% surge in the share price today, following on from yesterday's 19% increase.
The shares took a bashing on Thursday and Friday on fears that a big fund-raising exercise is in the offing but after closing at 3.95p on Friday the shares have now recovered to 5.45p as bargain hunters move in.
Sandwich chain Pret a Manger's food is surprisingly high in fat so it should be little surprise that, when it ascribed part of its 13.9% rise in sales in 2015 to the booming popularity of a fruit, that fruit should turn out to be the fattiest of them all: the avocado.
“This year we have challenged ourselves to increase our vegetarian options in all shops, as well as opening a veggie-only pop-up shop to learn more from our customers,” said Clive Schlee, Pret's chief executive.
It looks like Pret customers managed to “pear down” on meat consumption, as 5mln of the slimy fruits were consumed in salads and sandwiches last year in Pret's shops.
The company also said sales of vegetarian products shot up as customers sought to cut down on meat.