Brierley on attack over AGM

Sir Ron Brierley Photo / Greg Bowker

The private tension between Sir Ron Brierley and his former business partner Tony Gibbs has gone public with a slanging match over whether Gibbs fought to have Guinness Peat Group's annual shareholders' meeting in New Zealand.

GPG said on Friday it would sell down most of its assets, return $158 million in capital to investors this year, and hold its AGM in New Zealand in June.

The move was welcomed by former director Gibbs, who was kicked off the board last year for disagreeing with plans to split off the Australian part of the business into a separately listed company.

Gibbs also said he was pleased the board had decided to hold its AGM in New Zealand in June as it was something he had advocated for.

But Gibbs' comments about the AGM angered the New Zealand Shareholders Association prompting chairman John Hawkins to post a letter on its website stating that the only offer Gibbs had made was to hold a "briefing meeting" in New Zealand.

"Tony, you know and I can prove it, that the only offer you made was to hold a briefing meeting (not an AGM) including some of the GPG directors if they would come, or on your own if not.

"In fact you were part of a board that consistently claimed for years that the AGM could not be held in NZ for legal reasons - though given what has now happened, it would seem that no legal advice was ever sought on the matter," Hawkins wrote.

The letter sparked the attention of Brierley who in an unusual move wrote back to Hawkins agreeing with the association and labelling the claim by Gibbs' as "phoney". He also sent the email to the Herald and market commentators.

"... you are quite right regarding Tony Gibbs' phoney claim that he advocated holding a GPG AGM in New Zealand. He was a member of my board which unanimously and consistently resisted holding the AGM in New Zealand."

Brierley said the reasons for not holding the meeting in New Zealand were "purely commonsense and practical economics".

"There was no legal reason. GPG is a UK incorporated company, its head office and administrative functions are in London and its AGM should sensibly be held at a nearby location.

"Moving the whole circus to Ruatoria or Invercargill or wherever in New Zealand, will cost at least NZ$500,000 quite apart from considerable staff disruption. For what? So a few show ponies can strut their stage for a short while?"

Gibbs, who remains a chairman of Tower and Turners & Growers which GPG owns stakes in, said it appeared Brierley had a short memory.

"Ron unfortunately forgets, last year when I, on behalf of GPG was talking with the New Zealand Shareholders Association about a video presentation of the London AGM we agreed to hold a shareholders' meeting this year in New Zealand."

Gibbs said it may not have been the AGM but it was a shareholders' meeting.

Hawkins said it had decided not to publish Brierley's letter on its website as there was no advantage in doing so.

"We would prefer to stick to the issues. This matter has now started to descend into a battle of personalities which obscures the key outcome - that the New Zealand individual shareholders will have a chance to meet and question the current GPG directors now that the decision has been made to hold the AGM in NZ."