Wilson HTM managing director leaves - but offers to buy business
Wilson HTM managing director Andrew Coppin has parted ways with the company at the conclusion of an internal investigation which found he had not engaged in inappropriate behaviour as a director of the firm.
However Coppin has also approached the board with an offer to purchase the business - leading to his departure from the managing director role.
In a statement released to the Australian Stock Exchange, Wilson HTM stated that claims made against Coppin by two former employees were not substantiated, and that Coppin had also made an approach to the board to purchase the Wilson HTM business.
As a result of this approach, the board considered Coppin’s role as managing director would create a conflict of interest and requested that he resign from his role, with the resignation to be effective immediately. Alexander (Sandy) Grant, who is currently head of Wilson’s Priority Funds and a director of Pinnacle Investment Management, has been appointed acting chief executive.
Coppin joined Wilson HTM in October 2011 and will be paid the remainder of his contractual salary, which according to the group’s 2012 annual report is $425,000. Coppin also holds 700,000 Wilson HTM shares, making him the second-largest holder of shares among the company’s executive and directors.
Former executive chair and managing director Steven Wilson holds the most shares among the company’s senior figures, with the annual report stating he held more than 18 million. Wilson recently indicated he would step down from his consultant role in the business to become a non-executive director.
Wilson HTM had been in a trading halt since Monday pending the releases of its findings into alleged inappropriate behaviour by Coppin. It has not elaborated on what claims were made against him.
In its statement yesterday evening, Wilson HTM stated that none of the allegations had been substantiated by an independent investigator commissioned by its board, and that Coppin’s departure was entirely related to his approach to the board to purchase the Wilson HTM business.
Wilson HTM said Coppin had yet to make a formal approach and it had no further information regarding the purchase offer. It is the second buy-out approach to Wilson HTM in the last 12 months. The group rejected an off-market offer from Mariner which expired in February without significant interest from shareholders.
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