THG's Moulding gives up 'golden share' after shares plummet

The Hut Group, a rapidly growing British online retailer and tech group that is backed by SoftBank, said on Monday it would remove its founder's "golden share" and seek a premium listing after its shares plummeted last week. THG, which went public in a bumper initial public offering last September, was rocked last week by a 35% collapse in its share price following an investor presentation, forcing it to address corporate governance concerns around the group.

The Hut Group, a rapidly growing British online retailer and tech group that is backed by SoftBank, said on Monday it would remove its founder's "golden share" and seek a premium listing after its shares plummeted last week.

THG, which went public in a bumper initial public offering last September, was rocked last week by a 35% collapse in its share price following an investor presentation, forcing it to address corporate governance concerns around the group. A seller of beauty and nutrition products that also runs an e-commerce and logistics arm for partners, THG said its founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding would cancel the Special Share rights that had given him control over acquisitions.

It said it would also carry out a further review of its corporate governance arrangements amid suggestions in the media that the group needs to find an experienced non-executive chairman as Moulding is currently both CEO and executive chairman. "After the anniversary of our 2020 listing we feel that the time is right to make this next step and apply to the Premium segment in 2022, thereby continuing the development of THG as we endeavour to deliver our strategy for the benefit of our shareholders, key stakeholders and employees," Moulding said.

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