Premier Foods chief narrowly survives AGM move to oust him

Embattled Premier Foods chief executive Gavin Darby narrowly survived a vote to oust him at a torrid annual meeting, with activist shareholder Oasis Management declaring that its campaign to shake up the company's performance was not over. In the past decade, only three other chief executives have had more than 40 per cent of votes cast against their re-election, according to Minerva Analytics, the voting services group. Shares in Premier have jumped by 27 per cent since Oasis launched it campaign last month but closed 4 per cent lower on Wednesday. In a moment of high drama at the packed London meeting, Charles Miller Smith, a former Premier board director and shareholder, told Mr Darby: "Your time is up; I honestly believe it's time to bow out." "UK boards can normally expect levels of support in the high 90s. A negative vote of over 40 per cent reveals a disturbing gulf in expectations," said Sarah Wilson, chief executive of Minerva Analytics.

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