Carphone founder quits after breaking stock exchange rules

December 10, 2008

1 Min Read
Who's Been a Naughty Boy?

7:25 AM -- David Ross, co-founder of U.K. phenomenon Carphone Warehouse Group plc (London: CPW), looks as if he's going to have plenty of spare time to enjoy the Christmas holidays this year.

A stocks and shares scandal has forced him to quit his post as deputy chairman of the retail outlet and broadband services firm and has now led to his resignation from other positions, including his seat on the 2012 Olympics organizing committee. (See Carphone Reports Q1 and Carphone Guns for DSL Top Spot.)

What did Ross do? According to a filing with the London Stock Exchange, he "pledged 136.4 million ordinary shares in [Carphone Warehouse] against personal loans" between 2006 and 2008 without informing fellow board members -- and that's against the rules.

At current prices, 136.4 million Carphone shares are worth £116.3 million (US$172 million).

Check out this article from The Guardian for details of the original transgression, and this follow-up Guardian story on the fallout that has freed up a lot of "windows" in Ross's diary.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading

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