If you are a unit trust manager with a mandate geared towards beating the market rather than generating absolute returns you will turn over

If you are a unit trust manager, with a mandate geared towards beating the market rather than generating absolute returns, you will turn over your portfolio once every 12 to 18 months. But it is unwise to expect much share progress.Don’t forget, Voller is probably a weak holder and may sell. Franks, with I think [...]

If you are a unit trust manager, with a mandate geared towards beating the market rather than generating absolute returns, you will turn over your portfolio once every 12 to 18 months. But it is unwise to expect much share progress.Don’t forget, Voller is probably a weak holder and may sell. Franks, with I think 13 per cent, may also be inclined not to stick around. So there is a significant overhang which could restrain the shares until it is cleared.

But with the price not far from the penny dreadful zone Messrs.Voller and Franks may continue to sit tight, thus holding back any recovery strength.. What is your real-time horizon as an investor? If you are a hedge fund manager, you must think and act on a daily – sometimes hourly – basis. After all, City institutions were prepared to pay 10p a share. As the remaining directors, Greenwood and non-executive Nigel Barton, say: “The current management has won the backing of sufficient investors to permit the company to continue to trade”.Well, what’s next? A trading statement, not expected to be particularly encouraging, should materialise soon and the two-man board strengthened with the arrival of food man Nigel Terry and accountant Rolf Silver. Assuming no more campaigning by former directors the company should soon be back on the uproad.As for the shares, I have decided to hang on At 6.25p there does not seem much inclination to sell. Then a ‘ meeting to approve the near £3m rescue package and publication of the yearly report and accounts, followed by another meeting -the AGM.What about Lennox’s position in the portfolio? Obviously last week’s meeting failed to produce much guidance. Until then it seemed that Lennox, distributing British products to Spanish retail outlets for holidaymakers and the growing expat community, was an increasingly prosperous business.

It planned to expand its Spanish involvement and talked about extending its operations into other European countries. Profits were running at an encouraging level.Then the fun and games started. Voller lost his job, voted off by a faction seemingly led by David Franks, then a director. The subsequent interim figures were disappointing and then along came the bombshell of a share suspension. The reason? An underpayment of Spanish taxes which, remarkably, was not identified in the flotation process.To overcome its problems, the group had to raise fresh capital from City investors at a knockdown 10p a share The new cash was crucial. Part of his shareholding, representing some 12 per cent of the capital, has been cancelled.What a pity shareholders were kept in ignorance of the deal at the meeting.

The settlement could explain Voller’s strange behaviour in not pursuing his campaign for changes.It was a year ago, at another meeting at Finn’s offices, when “outside” shareholders became aware of the friction. If that was not enough for frayed nerves along comes the farcical extraordinary general meeting, held at the City office of the company’s broker, JM Finn.But a few shafts of sunlight have emerged. Five days after the meeting, Voller settled a legal row with Lennox. The only valid proposal, the removal of veteran managing director Ray Greenwood, was comfortably defeated.Voller’s antics can only have made life more difficult for Lennox which has had a nightmarish time since its shares were floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) towards the end of 2004.During its AIM life it has suffered boardroom bust ups as well as a share suspension and a rescue cash call. Two of the men he wanted voted off were not even directors and one of the suggested joint auditors, a Spanish firm, asked to be excused duty.Nevertheless the resolutions were voted down. To add insult to injury, the proposals for new directors were invalid because certain formalities were not completed. As I have, to my eternal shame, recruited the distributors’ shares to the No Pain, No Gain portfolio I felt obliged to go along to what could be an enlightening and lively event.

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