O'Neill appointment puts Norish in play
O’Neill appointment puts Norish in play
Ciaran Hancock
THE appointment last week of Ted O’Neill as chairman of Norish came at the behest of a number of large individual and institutional shareholders who want the business sold.
O’Neill’s appointment to the troubled publicly quoted cold-storage company was supported by institutions including Standard Life and Friends First, which between them own about 16.5% of the company, and Ray French Sr, who has a stake of 5.4% through his Kappa Alpha investment vehicle.
French and O’Neill are directors of Newcourt Capital Group, a private equity firm. O’Neill replaced John Paterson, who decided to withdraw his nomination for re-election to the post at Norish’s annual meeting last Thursday.
Paterson had been chairman since last November, when Brian Joyce quit the role. Paterson told the meeting that he had only intended to fill the post on an interim basis but it is understood that certain shareholders had pressed him to make way for a new appointee.
O’Neill’s role is to identify opportunities to enable shareholders to realise a return on their investment in the company. The investors are seeking €8m for the business and a deal is likely within 12 months.
This might be difficult to achieve given Norish’s market capitalisation at €7m. Although the company is trading profitably, it made a loss after tax last year of £2.9m (€4.14m) after a goodwill write-off of £3.3m (€4.7m). It has also been the subject of a boardroom upheaval for 18 months.
Speculation is mounting that Sean and Anne Murphy, who last week declared a 3.8% stake, are trying to buy some or all of the company. The Murphys, who have cold-storage and refrigeration interests near the border, were not available for comment.
O’Neill has an impressive track record for corporate sales. In 2000, Imari, a transport company he founded, was sold to Mersey Docks for £16m. He also oversaw the sale of Seafield plc, the transport and warehousing company, to Orb, a Jersey investment company.
It is understood Paterson will receive a modest severance package. This is expected to be on the agenda of the next board meeting in July. Details of Paterson’s remuneration are unlikely to emerge until Norish publishes its next annual report.
O’Neill, who was only appointed to the board at last week’s meeting in Dublin, was the sole nominee for the chairmanship when the board met after the AGM to elect a successor to Paterson.
It was thought that Willie McCarter, who was also elected to the board last week, might be nominated for the role but his name was not put forward.
Instead, he was appointed as the company’s senior independent non-executive director. McCarter is chairman of the International Fund for Ireland and a director of Cooley Distillery, the Irish whiskey maker. O’Neill declined to comment.
