Purplebricks boss Paul Pindar clings on to his job after shareholder vote

The chairman of Purplebricks is clinging on to his job after a bruising investor vote to oust him.

More than 28 per cent of the online estate agent’s shareholders voted against Paul Pindar in a general meeting – and 6.8 per cent withheld their votes.

The ballot followed demands from activist investor Adam Smith, through his fund Lecram Holdings which owns 5.2 per cent of Purplebricks, for Pindar to step down.

Smith claimed Pindar had presided over a ‘highly unsatisfactory performance’ at the company, and that the management team under the chairman’s watch had made ‘a series of poor business decisions’.

Shares have fallen more than 60 per cent this year and lost another 2.9 per cent, or 0.28p, to 9.27p.

In another blow for Purplebricks, Harry Hill – the former chairman of rivals Countrywide and Rightmove who Smith had proposed as a replacement for Pindar – won the support of 41.8 per cent of shareholders. 

Neither the vote to remove Pindar nor the ballot to appoint Hill succeeded, since both needed to be passed by 50 per cent of shareholders.

But the company said it recognised there were ‘a significant proportion of shareholders that voted in their favour’.

Smith said: ‘Nearly 30 per cent of shareholders that voted, and a majority of independent shareholders not represented on the board, have supported our motion to remove Paul Pindar as chairman.

‘There is also considerable support for bringing Harry Hill, who is both experienced in the sector and independent, onto the board.’

Helena Marston, Purplebricks’ chief executive, said she wanted to ‘reassure all shareholders that we understand their concerns’.

Without touching on Pindar’s future, she said: ‘Our past performance has not been good enough. But we have a new team, with an agreed plan that is being delivered at pace.’ 

Marston herself only took the reins in April, following lengthy due diligence checks which revealed she had voluntarily declared herself bankrupt in September 2014 owing £103,000 to creditors. Her debts were discharged in September 2015.

In October, the company announced finance boss Steve Long would be replaced by Dominique Highfield, who had worked at Sainsbury’s, Amazon and Speedo owner Pentland Brands. And in September, it appointed property industry veterans Adrian Gill and Gareth Helm to the board.

After the company’s full-year results in August, Marston set out her plan which would see costs cut by £13million per year and fees hiked.

Yesterday she vowed changes brought in over the last four months ‘will be clear for all to see at our final results’. 

But the significant votes against Pindar suggest Purplebricks will have a battle on its hands to win over shareholders.