Gresham House portfolio manager and managing director Richard Staveley has resigned after less than two years at the fund boutique.
Staveley (pictured) has more than two decades of fund management experience, including five years at Majedie Asset Management and seven years at River and Mercantile, the Aim-listed manager he helped found in 2006.
He joined Gresham House in September 2019, taking up the reins of the UK Smaller Companies fund, which is in the top quartile of the IA UK Smaller Companies sector over one year, and becoming a manager on the Gresham House Strategic (GHS) trust.
At the time commentators said the move seemed like an ideal fit for Staveley given his small cap focus.
Staveley leaves the business effective immediately
A regulatory filing for GHS on Tuesday afternoon confirmed Staveley had left Gresham House after 20 months with immediate effect.
“We wish Richard well for the future,” a single line in the stock announcement read.
GHS, which accounts for £58m of Gresham House’s £4bn in assets under management, will continue to be run by managers Laurence Hulse, who has been directly involved with the trust since Gresham House won the mandate in 2015, and Tony Dalwood, chair of the GHS investment committee, which also includes Graham Bird and Ken Wotton.
GHS board at loggerheads with Gresham House
News of Staveley’s resignation comes at a precarious time for GHS as the board finds itself at loggerheads with the trust’s manager Gresham House.
On 21 May Gresham House requisitioned an emergency shareholder meeting to vote on a proposed board shakeup, calling for the immediate removal of chairman David Potter. Gresham House, which is the largest shareholder in GHS with a 23% stake, said it had long expressed governance concerns over Potter’s 18-year tenure as chairman.
In response, the board of GHS served a 12-month protective notice against Gresham House on Monday and launched a strategic review of the trust. It also announced Potter would be retiring as chairman at the trust’s AGM in September.
Following Potter’s retirement, the board said it was “timely” to undertake a strategic review to determine “the best course of action to provide growth in value for shareholders”.
See also: Gresham House served notice on UK smaller companies trust
It is unclear whether Gresham House will retain the mandate following the review, which is being conducted in conjunction with an independent financial adviser.
Though the board noted GHS had been one of the top performers in the IT UK Smaller Companies sector and has seen its share price double since Gresham House took up the reins in 2015, it lamented the trust had struggled to attract assets due to its persistent discount.
GHS currently has £57.4m in assets. Its discount widened from 6.4% to 7.5% following Monday’s stock announcement.
Gresham House ‘committed to gold standard corporate governance’
Responding on Tuesday, Gresham House said it “welcomes the clear intent from GHS” that it will consult with Rock Nominees, which is acting on behalf of the asset manager, on possible modifications to the GM resolutions.
A spokesperson for Gresham House has said the resolutions, if passed, would “immediately bring GHS into line with the AIC Code of Corporate Governance provisions regarding board tenure,” adding the boutique is “committed to gold standard corporate governance”.
In addition to ousting Potter, Gresham House is proposing promoting Helen Sinclair to interim chairman, as well as installing Jeston Na Nakhorn, one of its own representatives, as a non-independent, non-executive director and Ken Lever as an independent non-executive director.
It is also looking to pass a resolution that would prevent GHS from issuing shares in the trust below NAV.
