黑洞社区

Lakehouse founder Steve Rawlings has told 黑洞社区 he wants a return to the board of the company he set up because the value of his stake has dropped by nearly half in just four months.

A profit warning in February halved the shares meaning the value of Rawlings鈥� 15.5% stake 鈥� which amounts to just under 24.5 million shares 鈥� now stands at 拢12.1m. Four months ago, his stake was worth 拢22.8m.

Asked whether he was intervening as a direct result of the fall, Rawlings (pictured) said: 鈥淵es is the simple answer. It鈥檚 gone badly wrong.鈥�

Rawlings and fund manager Slater Investments, who between them own more than 20% of the business, are demanding that Lakehouse鈥檚 three non-executive directors, Chris Geoghegan, Jill Ainscough and Jonathan Ford, go and are replaced by Rawlings, former Atkins finance director Ric Piper and Robert Legget, managing director of fund group Progressive Value Management.

Rawlings was speaking ahead of publication of a statement today issued by him and Slater Investments urging Lakehouse shareholders to back their resolutions to shake up the board at a general meeting scheduled for April 19.

Lakehouse鈥檚 board immediately responded saying it has made an alternative proposal to Rawlings and Slater to create a fourth non-executive director position instead 鈥渢o avoid further adverse disruption and unneccessary cost鈥�. It once again advised shareholders to reject Rawlings鈥� and Slater鈥檚 resolutions and said it would issue a full response on Monday (4 April).

Speaking about the attempted boardroom coup, Rawlings said: 鈥淚鈥檓 retired, I don鈥檛 want a full-time job but I鈥檇 like to know what鈥檚 going on and what鈥檚 gone wrong. I know the people in that company and they are calling me every week and I think the wrong people are in place.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檇 also like to bring a couple of guys with me who I have got confidence in,鈥� he added.

Lakehouse chief executive Stuart Black, who left Mears in 2008 to become Lakehouse鈥檚 executive chairman and is now acting as chief executive following the Sean Birrane鈥檚 decision to step down in March, said the intervention was 鈥渉ugely destabilising, we鈥檇 like it to stop as quickly as possible.鈥�

The Essex-based group successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange last year, but in February posted a profit warning on the back of the government鈥檚 squeeze on social housing.

Rawlings said he was concerned the firm鈥檚 regneration arm is 鈥済oing backwards鈥�. Analysts at Peel Hunt have commented that this side of Lakehouse鈥檚 business has taken a hit in 2016 from 鈥渃lients curtailing anticipated planned maintenance programs鈥� due to social landlords cutting back capital works.

Rawlings admitted he was still working on what to do if he gets back onto the board. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 got a plan, until we get inside the business, get access to the figures and talk to the people then we can understand where it鈥檚 going wrong and do something about it. I would always say the company is always about the people and Lakehouse had a good reputation. At the moment Lakehouse is wounded.鈥�

In a statement released to the Stock Exchange just before Easter, Lakehouse said shareholders should vote against Rawlings鈥� plans and added that his 鈥渓ack of involvement in the Group and track record as a director since 2012, together with his lack of experience as a director of listed companies, does not suggest that he has the necessary skill set to be able to provide a meaningful contribution to the Board or the Group going forward鈥�.

It added that Rawlings and Slater had 鈥渃aused unnecessary disruption to, and uncertainty within, the operations of the business at a time when the Board wants to focus on the trading performance of the Group鈥�.

And chairman Chris Geoghegan said a lack of a plan from Rawlings and Slater was worrying: 鈥淭heir silence on this important matter is especially concerning given they are asking to remove every single existing Non-Executive Director and to replace them with their own candidates.鈥�

Speaking this week, Rawlings said that the people he wanted to bring on to the board 鈥渒now about managing plcs鈥�.

He also said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about the shares. We think we鈥檝e got the majority of the shares or we wouldn鈥檛 have called it in the first place. Even if they won, no board can survive without the support of the major shareholders.鈥�

Rawlings set up Lakehouse in 1988 stepping down as chief executive in October 2014 in order to spend more time running his training-focused social enterprise 黑洞社区 Lives.