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Bath bomb specialist Lush has settled a legal dispute with its former chief executive Andrew Gerrie’s investment firm, Silverwood Brands, over a blocked transfer of shares, the Times has reported.
Last year, Lush had a run-in with Silverwood Brands after the business sought to acquire a 19.8% stake in Lush, worth £216.8m, from Gerrie and his wife Alison Hawksley.
However, Lush blocked the transfer of shares to Silverwood from Gerrie, claiming that the shares did not correspond with what had been offered to the remaining shareholders and that “the separation of legal and beneficial interests in the shares is not permissible”.
It also stated that the price paid for the shares was required to be made in cash, whereas Silverwood’s payment was allegedly not.
Lush told The Times it had settled its legal battle as “Gerrie and Silverwood Brands have now accepted Lush’s position that the transaction was not in compliance with the company’s articles and the sale is not proceeding”.
The broker that held the shares during the disagreement, VSA Capital Group, stated that it had given them back to Gerrie and agreed to work with him and Hawksley on achieving a “unwind transaction.”
As part of the settlement, Gerrie and Hawksley will pay Silverwood £300,000 in cash for legal costs incurred.
