Lewis Group heads to court
Lewis Group launches legal proceedings to set aside a letter written to it by a shareholder demanding that it find its directors delinquent.
|||Johannesburg - The Lewis Group has launched legal proceedings to set aside a letter written to it by a shareholder demanding that it find its directors delinquent.
In a statement issued on Friday, the listed retail group said it launched proceedings to set aside a demand received from David Woollam in the Western Cape Division of the High Court, Cape Town, on Wednesday.
Lewis argues Woollam’s demand is frivolous, vexatious and without merit.
“The company is seeking costs from Woollam on an attorney-client scale. The company regards Woollam’s demand ... as the latest in a lengthy list of actions by him calculated to damage the company’s reputation, operations and business.
“As the company has fully articulated in its court papers, Woollam held a long standing short position on Lewis’ shares at the time of his campaign against Lewis.”
Read also: ‘Lewis directors are delinquent’
The listed retail outlet argues Woollam’s ongoing campaign against the company is a concerted attempt by him to drive down the price of Lewis’s shares to opportunistically benefit financially by taking short positions in Lewis’s shares.
Lewis has also filed a complaint in respect of Woollam’s short position with the Financial Services Board (FSB), which it says is being investigated.
Woollam’s letter, to Lewis’ board, demands that the listed furniture retailer start proceedings to declare its CEO, Johan Enslin, CFO Les Davies as well as non executive chairman David Nurek and non executive director Hilton Saven as delinquent in terms of the Companies Act.
Read also: Lewis’s earnings fall as credit sales drop
At the Annual General Meeting, Woollam of credit lobby group Summit Financial Partners, queried provisions made by Lewis for impairments and warranties.Shareholders also clashed with chairman David Nurek over attempts to stop them asking questions.
“A greater proportion of the debtors’ book is poorly performing and is not adequately provided for,” Bloomberg quoted Woollam as saying at the meeting. “There is a gross misrepresentation of the financial statements.”
Lewis said these allegations were without merit.
IOL