The under-fire chairwoman of King Charles’s favourite interior design firm has hit back at the “distracting” investor plot to remove her.
Dame Dianne Thompson, chair of London-listed Sanderson Design Group, wrote to shareholders on Monday urging them to slap down a major investor’s “disruptive” attempts to oust her.
LBV Asset Management, which owns 12 per cent of Sanderson, has been pushing for the removal of Dame Thompson, a former National Lottery boss, over the designer’s drift towards “inaction and inertia”.
The historic wallpaper maker holds a Royal Warrant and earlier this year hosted King Charles at its new headquarters, but the investor claims new leadership is needed to kick off a “sustained period of change”.
Shareholders supportive of LBV’s coup attempt have hit out at the “lavish” redesign of Sanderson’s new headquarters, its slow expansion in the US and the “unjustified” decision to hand Dame Thompson and the chief executive 36 per cent of the group’s profit in pay deals.
But Sanderson has vowed to fight off this investor pressure, urging shareholders to vote against LBV’s motions at the emergency meeting it has called for 29 October.
Dame Thompson told shareholders on Monday: “When considering the strength of the Group’s performance, together with LBV’s stated support for the executive management team and operational strategy, I believe it right to question whether LBV’s underlying intention is aligned to that of the wider shareholder base.
“LBV’s proposals risk significant disruption and uncertainty at precisely the point when the benefits of the Group’s transformation are becoming increasingly evident.”
Investor pressure ‘unnecessary and distracting’
The design firm’s chair pointed to the company’s latest figures as proof of “continued momentum”. Revenue jumped six per cent to £51m and pre-tax profit grew by two thirds to £2.5m in the six months to the end of July.
Dame Thompson, aged 75, told investors that Sanderson had set out plans for her eventual retirement before LBV sought to force her early exit.
The group’s board had already decided that it would begin searching for Dame Thompson’s successor in January 2027, she said. “Good governance requires proper succession planning, not the immediate removal of a Chair and the abandonment of an established process at a point when the Company’s strategy is beginning to deliver.”
Sanderson’s board also wrote to investors on Monday, setting out its support of Dame Thompson. It said: “Dame Dianne’s leadership experience across major consumer businesses remains highly relevant to the Group, and the Board has full confidence in her continued contribution throughout this process.”
The board also set out to prove that it is engaging “constructively” with LBV, handing shareholders proof of 20 times it has met with the representatives of the investor since September 2024.
Sanderson’s board pointed to its association with King Charles as proof that the design group is still relevant. The firm unveiled its Highgrove collection last year, inspired by the gardens of the King’s Gloucestershire estate.
The collection, which gained “personal approval” from the King, “has been the most successful launch to date and created a clear halo effect on the broader Sanderson brand,” the board said.
Sanderson told shareholders it will fight off all pressure from LBV. “The Board considers the resulting uncertainty to be unnecessary and distracting, and a risk to the Group’s positive momentum and focused strategy.”
Shares in Sanderson Design Group gained 2.6 per cent to 79p in early trading.