Shareholder Irenic Capital urges Restaurant Group to replace board chair (updated)

Restaurant

11/07/2023 17:53

(Adds details from Irenic's statement in paragraph 4,
Restaurant Group response in paragraph 3, background and quotes)
       July 11 (Reuters) - Activist investor Irenic Capital
Management urged Restaurant Group  RTN.L  on Tuesday to replace
its chair, Ken Hanna, add new independent directors and conduct
a "legitimate" strategic review with "all options on the table".
    Irenic, which has a 2.4% stake in Wagamama-owner Restaurant
Group, has joined shareholder Oasis Management in asking the
company for a governance change.
    Restaurant Group said in an email to Reuters it had declined
Irenic's request for a board seat, adding its chairman had the
backing of the entire board.     
   "The response from the Board and management has been to
dither and to delay," Irenic co-founder Adam Katz said, adding
that his company has been in talks with the group since last
year. 
    In February, Oasis Management urged Restaurant Group to take
steps to restore market confidence, after its request for a
board seat last year was rejected by the company.     
    Restaurant Group, which has been struggling to recover from
the pandemic-induced problems, said in May it expected its
profit margins to improve in the medium-term. 


    

 (Reporting by Sinchita Mitra and Akshita Toshniwal in Bengaluru
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
 ((Sinchita.Mitra@thomsonreuters.com;))