When Gavin Darby became chief executive of Premier Foods in February 2013, the company was in serious financial difficulties. It was weighed down by net debt of nearly £1 billion — a multiple of roughly six times its underlying earnings — and the task he faced was, to say the least, a challenging one (Dominic Walsh writes).
Next week’s annual meeting has effectively become an opportunity for investors in the maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Ambrosia custard to decide whether or not they believe the turnaround wrought by the former Coca-Cola and Vodafone executive has worked.
Leading the charge against him are Oasis Management, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund that has just upped its stake in Premier to 17.3 per cent, and the New