THREE senor directors have resigned from the board at Huddersfield-based discount retailer Instore following a failed takeover bid for the business.
Non-executive chairman Christo Wiese and directors Cornus Moore and John Gnodde stepped down just a week after independent directors rejected an £11.4m bid from a company controlled by non-executive director Abdul Aziz Tayub.
The dissenting directors said the 5p-a-share offer from Seaham Investments, part of Mr Tayub’s Crown Crest Group Ltd, “significantly undervalued the business.
Leicester-based cash-and-carry business Crown Crest already owns 30.6% of Deighton-based Instore.
The bid had been backed by Tradegro, part of South African retail investment group Tradehold, which is headed by Mr Wiese and also has a stake in Instore.
Instore, with more than 100 stores under the Instore and Poundstretcher names, posted losses of £7.4m in May amid “extremely challenging” conditions.
