AssetCo rescued by taking boss to court

 

AssetCo, the owner of London's fire engines, was dramatically rescued after the firm took the unprecedented step of taking its chief executive and largest shareholder to the High Court to force him to back a rescue plan.

London Fire engine

Court action: AssetCo owns London's fire engines

The future of the struggling emergency services firm had been put into doubt after boss John Shannon said he would not support a £16m fundraising which was set to be approved on Monday.

Shares were suspended and the vote was postponed as the board said the decision threatened the survival of the group.

But AssetCo was able to get an injunction late on Monday, forcing Shannon to back the share issue after it argued he had signed an irrevocable undertaking to support the fundraising earlier this month.

At a reconvened meeting yesterday the placing was approved, but Shannon did not attend.

The firm said he had 'gone on holiday'. A source close to AssetCo (down 2p to 13.5p) said Shannon was unhappy that his near-30% stake in the firm was being diluted.

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