Pubmaster attacks Wolves over shares mix-up

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Bitter insults have been exchanged in the battle for Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB) after a mix-up over share purchases.Pubmaster,...

Bitter insults have been exchanged in the battle for Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB) after a mix-up over share purchases.

Pubmaster, which has launched a hostile takeover bid, attacked the brewer's board, saying: "This is more incompetence from an incompetent management."

The pub group is urging W&DB's shareholders to accept its increased offer, which was raised this week from £453m to £485m.

According to W&DB's articles of association, which are the internal rules governing a company, its directors are obliged to buy a nominal £100 worth of its shares within two months of their appointment.

However, it has emerged that Martin Womack, its managing director of brands, and Stephen Oliver, the managing director of the group's Union Pub Company, failed to do so.

They finally spent £2,000 on buying 400 shares on Wednesday August 1, which is three months after their appointments to the main board on April 30.

The two directors were technically obliged to step down briefly from the board but were reinstated immediately once the deals had been completed. The purchases would have been made sooner, but W&DB waited until after a trading statement in July to ensure the directors were not accused of any improper dealing.

The error came to light as W&DB posted its defence document to shareholders urging them to reject Pubmaster's increased offer.

Chairman David Thompson said: "Pubmaster's latest offer continues to ignore the improved trading being delivered by W&DB and the significant re-rating the brewing sector has enjoyed.

"The bottom line is that Pubmaster is attempting to acquire W&DB's strong cash flow and valuable pub estate on the cheap."