Lush accused of failing to acknowledge £216.8m share transfer
Handmade toiletries retailer Lush has been accused by its ex-boss’s firm of failing to acknowledge the acquisition of a £216.8m stake in the company.
Silverwood Brands said the purchase of a 19.8% stake in the retailer, announced in December, had not been recorded by the retailer.
Silverwood executive director Andrew Gerrie is listed by the firm as a co-founder of Lush, although this is not listed on the retailer’s website. Gerrie is also a non-executive director for Hotel Chocolat.
The firm, which invests in various self-care and cosmetic brands, said the notification it had received from Lush had given no reason as to why the transfer of shares was not recorded.
It added that Lush’s actions had “no merit”.
“Together with its legal advisers, Silverwood will seek to engage with Lush and its solicitors to resolve the current situation, however the company will explore all options available to it to protect its interests for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole”, the firm said in a statement.
“As a purported arbiter of fairness, ethics and champion of environmental, social and governance issues, the company is surprised that Lush is behaving in this manner and expects that ultimately it will stand by their ethos and avoid potentially prejudicing minority interests”, Silverwood added.