KAMES Capital has become the latest major shareholder to attack takeaway firm Just Eat, urging it to hire a full-time boss to stabilise the business and get it back on track.
Just Eat has been under siege from activist shareholder Cat Rock since the end of last year. The investor is agitating for a merger with Dutch rival Takeaway.com.
Kames fund manager Malcolm McPartlin does not support Cat Rock but said: “This is clearly a period of flux. The interim chief executive Peter Duffy has not put himself forward and the firm needs the right person at the helm. I think the business needs some stability… there needs to be a permanent chief executive in place.”
Duffy took over in January from Peter Plumb, who was forced out after increased pressure from Cat Rock.
Although viewed as competent by shareholders, Duffy refused to take the job on full-time because of personal reasons. Another fund manager called for the management flux to be resolved within the next three months and said Just Eat was “just treading water”.
The comments from McPartlin come at a difficult time for the company which is holding its annual general meeting today: last week it posted disappointing order numbers for its UK business in the first three months this year.
