9:04 am, June 24, 2022
A clerical error during Vertu Motors’ annual meeting saw votes that were meant for Andy Goss’s re-election as chairman mistakenly counted against him, it has been revealed.
That translated as 133,414,520 votes for and 27,892,596 rejecting his re-election, with 26,176 votes withheld.
However, it transpired yesterday that a mistake was made by a shareholder agent during the ballot process, with votes in favour of both Goss and the dividend being ‘accidentally cast against’.
The resolution for the dividend was passed by 82.77 per cent (133,513,622 votes), with 17.23 per cent (27,793,494) against and the same number of votes withheld.
Confidentiality rules mean the source of the mistake can’t be identified, but a spokesman for Vertu Motors told Car Dealer: ‘There was a clerical error in the submission of votes by a shareholder agent for the Vertu AGM.
‘Vertu understands that a leading shareholder intended to vote for the re-election of the chairman and for the dividend.
‘Errors of this nature are very unusual.’
It’s also rare for shareholders to vote against a dividend, and an inquiry has been launched into the matter.
Although the votes can’t be recast, Car Dealer understands that the closest parallel to the true results can be drawn with that of the only other director who was up for re-election, namely chief financial officer Karen Anderson.
She received a 99.99 per cent vote in favour of re-election.
Goss became chairman in July 2019, while Anderson assumed her role four months earlier in March.
