Didnt really notice this in the shareholder announcement to be honest. Any hidden meaning?
KENT multi-millionaire Derek Chappell is the new chairman of Charlton plc.
Mr Chappell, 53, from Medway, succeeds Richard Murray who becomes chairman of Charlton of Charlton Athletic Football Company Limited.
Mr Murray will continue to provide the link between manager Alan Pardew and the plc.
Former football club chairman Martin Simons steps down to become deputy chairman but will play a key role in the development of the club's wide-ranging community initiatives.
Mr Chappell, who grew up in Medway and started work as an NHS clerk at the age of 16, is a former winner of the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award, is co-owner of Healthcare in Scotland, one of the fastest growing private hospital groups in Britain.
The company appeared in the Sunday Times Profit Track Top 100 companies for two successive years.
He takes over as Charlton seek approval from shareholders to raise up to £20 million through the issue of a new convertible bond.
Fourteen million of the proposed issue has already been underwritten by five Charlton plc directors - Richard Murray, Derek Chappell, Bob Whitehand, Sir Maurice Hatter and David Sumners.
The total raised will be used to repay recent loans made by these directors to support the company following relegation from the Premier League and to provide working capital for the company during the remainder of the season.
Charlton chief executive Peter Varney said: "This gesture by the directors show how they feel about the club. They all deserve huge credit."
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On the other hand it suggests to me that Murray may not have much more money left in his locker to throw at the club. He's involved in underwriting the Bond Issue but I suspect that Chappell may become the clubs biggest Shareholder and has more financial capability.
These are only guesses, I don't have any inside information.
From the Press release:
The board has therefore appointed Derek Chappell as the new chairman of Charlton plc, with Richard Murray becoming chairman of Charlton Athletic Football Company Limited.
Varney said: "Derek will assume responsibility for overseeing the future strategic direction of the company, and this will allow Richard to fully concentrate on football matters with Alan Pardew.
"Robert Whitehand will remain as deputy chairman of Charlton plc, and Martin Simons will step down as chairman of the football club to become deputy chairman.
I think it's down to Murray wanting to share responsibility and bring other people on, rather than say Chappell outranking Murray by owning more shares than him and claiming the top spot. If there was a boardroom revolt and infighting then I'd think you'd see one or two resignations rather than an arrangement that seems to have been made in advance and then ratified at a meeting.