Gilbert in bizarre spat with Aberdeen over AssetCo stake

The City veteran Martin Gilbert has become embroiled in a bizarre spat with his former employer that involved his own shares in his corporate vehicle being used to oppose his election to its board.

Sky News has learnt that Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) – part of the FTSE-100 company Standard Life Aberdeen – voted Mr Gilbert’s 9.9% stake in AssetCo against his re-election as its chairman.

ASI also voted the shares against plans for a potentially lucrative bonus and share award scheme which could benefit Mr Gilbert if AssetCo successfully repositions itself as a fund management roll-up venture.

City sources said on Tuesday said that ASI’s votes had been amended at the eleventh hour, ahead of AssetCo’s annual meeting and EGM, which will take place on Thursday, and would now support the relevant resolutions.

The situation is particularly ironic because Mr Gilbert was the founder of Aberdeen Asset Management – which is now part of ASI – and then became joint chief executive of SLA until 2019.

He stepped down as the group’s vice-chairman last May.

The bizarre row over Mr Gilbert’s stake arose because ASI passively manages the shares on his behalf, according to people close to the situation.

Proxy advisers including ISS recommended that shareholders vote against the election of Mr Gilbert on the grounds that he was not independent.

ISS also highlighted the potential for uncapped rewards for the former Aberdeen chief if AssetCo’s shares perform strongly.

Since leaving SLA, Mr Gilbert has amassed a portfolio of roles, including as chairman of the digital bank Revolut and directorships at companies including Saranac, a wealth manager.

Prior to Mr Gilbert’s investment, AssetCo was best-known as the listed fire engine leasing group which successfully sued its former auditor, Grant Thornton, for more than £20m over its failure to expose a fraud at the company.

AssetCo now holds a near-6% stake in the asset manager River & Mercantile – where Mr Gilbert also holds a board seat.

Mr Gilbert established Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983 and floated it on the London Stock Exchange eight years later.

A string of audacious takeover deals saw it enjoy explosive growth, while its substantial exposure to emerging markets, particularly in Asia, turned it into an industry powerhouse.

In 2002, Aberdeen was nearly brought down by an industry scandal over the mis-selling of so-called split capital investment trusts, which resulted in thousands of investors losing money.

Mr Gilbert was undeterred, however, and in 2017 he engineered the biggest deal-making coup of his career when he orchestrated Aberdeen’s £11bn all-share merger with Standard Life to create Europe’s second-largest asset manager.

Alongside Keith Skeoch, he became co-chief executive of Standard Aberdeen (SLA), but the loss of a key contract with Lloyds Banking Group and weak performance elsewhere in its business led to both men stepping down within three years of the deal.

Mr Gilbert could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, while an ASI spokeswoman declined to comment.

Read Entire Article