Sparks fly politely at Dorchester AGM

Brent King at the AGM. Picture / Paul Estcourt

It was a typical annual meeting - one shareholder rustling sweet papers as the chief executive talked performance and markets, another gently snoring.

But the fact that about 300 people showed up at Dorchester Pacific's annual get-together in Auckland yesterday underpinned an anticipation that sparks were going to fly.

The sparks were expected to come from the nominations to the finance company's board of former managing director Brent King, Bridgecorp managing director Rod Petricevic and New Zealand Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard.

The source of the expected interest could be traced back to 2004 when King, then managing director, sold 3.2 million shares to Petricevic's Bridgecorp for $4.04 a share, compared with a market price of $2.80.

The nomination session proved to be lively although the duelling was cordially wrapped.

Chairman Barry Graham, also up for re-election, said it was not good practice for a previous managing director to continue as a director and the board would not support nominating any new directors at this stage.

King said he had hoped not to stand for election but had become increasingly concerned about some aspects of company performance - notably share price, steady yesterday at $2.13, which should be more than $3 a share.

"I think we have seen today a cosy board and a self-congratulatory board," King said.

Board member Paul Byrnes said King would have to justify why a track record of looking after his own interests would change if he was elected.

Some investors questioned King's suitability for election, but another added that he had single handedly built up Dorchester and historical issues should be put to rest.

Petricevic said the annual meeting had been turned into a fiasco "and can only detract from the focus of the meeting and portray ... Dorchester in a negative light".

He said assets had grown by more than 30 per cent in the past two years but profit had not risen in kind.

Sheppard appeared to aid his rivals when he said he originally invested in Dorchester for King's vision and he was concerned Petricevic had no seat despite being a major shareholder.

In the end King, Petricevic and Sheppard all missed out on election.

Graham held his seat.