Cromwell chief Weightman to quit amid ARA feud
Cromwell Property Group chief executive Paul Weightman will quit the fund manager he co-founded two decades ago in an effort to stave off further ructions with its hostile major investor, Singapore’s ARA Asset Management.
Mr Weightman’s decision to walk the plank, announced after market on Thursday night, follows upheaval at the Brisbane-based company’s shareholder meeting last month when the incumbent chairman and two other directors were effectively voted off the board.
An opposing bloc led by ARA and backed by interests associated with Singaporean billionaire Gordon Tang also delivered a second strike to the remuneration report, with the result that three more directors were facing a spill meeting, subsequently set for February.
Mr Weghtman’s self-sacrifice, a move foreshadowed in a Street Talk report, could yet be enough to placate the Singaporeans and save the seats still held by new chairman, Jane Tongs and two other directors.
After helping to establish the company in 1998, Mr Weightman will retire on December 31.
“Over the last 22 years, I have always sought to stay true to our purpose ‘that we are here to look after people’,” he said in a statement.
“This has been tested as much this year by COVID-19 as it was back in 1998 when we saw an opportunity to start-up a real estate business that put people first.
“I’m proud that Cromwell has come through the pandemic and is continuing to operate successfully, particularly with the majority of its people working from home for most of the year.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to have been CEO of a business that has delivered such strong returns over such a long timeframe.”
Mr Weightman has longed warned that ARA was pursuing a “takeover by stealth” strategy, using its voting muscle to win seats in the boardroom and then gain control over its management.
The feud between Cromwell and its largest investor has become ever more entrenched over the last two years, as the Singaporeans levelled a series of sharp criticisms about the company’s strategy and management.
At its third attempt, ARA effectively stormed the Cromwell boardroom in September, voting up its nominations, veteran director and renowned corporate raider Gary Weiss, and Joe Gersh, an investment banker and ABC board member.
That victory set the scene for the bloodbath that followed at last month’s AGM. The end game was in sight with the February meeting, when ARA was expected to use its weight on the share register to implement further board changes.
Waiting in the wings as a likely contender for upcoming vacancy in the chief executive’s role has been veteran property executive and ARA’s Australian country head, David Blight. Mr Blight is already familiar with Cromwell’s boardroom, where he served as a director before resigning in July last year as hostilities worsened.
“For some time now, ARA has encouraged Cromwell to refresh its board in a considered and structured manner,” Mr Blight told The Australian Financial Review last month in the wake of the boardroom upheaval.
“Clearly, we support a process of board renewal at Cromwell and will watch with interest any proposed appointments.
“In the interests of all security holders, ARA would like to see Cromwell articulate to the market a clear and precise strategy, which is then executed with discipline and speed.”
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