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Independent Media Support Group

  • BY: Andrew Hore |
  • POSTED: 07/06/2008 |

Independent Media Support Group’s board has sacked executive chairman and majority shareholder Sylvia Sheridan OBE.

Her employment at the TV subtitles provider has been terminated because she was paid additional remuneration of £58,200 without the approval of independent non-executive director - and newly appointed chairman - John Reiss.

In October 2007 Sheridan bought nearly 4m shares at 12p each, taking her stake to 75.5%. These shares were sold by Peter Gyllenhammar’s company Forvaltnengs AB Bronsstadet. Since then the shares have fallen to 8.25p, valuing IMS at £2.15m.

Chief executive Melvyn Angell has also been removed from the board and sacked from the company because he hasn’t repaid £89,000 he owes to IMS. Angell left the board in March 2006 but returned as chief executive on 28 August 2007.

The company will try to recover these funds from Sheridan and Angell.

IMS has been a disappointment since it joined Aim on 24 June 2004. It raised £6m at 57.5p a share. So the whole company is valued at little more than one-third of the money it raised four years ago.

Subtitling prices have fallen and the number of TV channels that have to provide media access services are being reduced.

Over the three years to 2006 turnover has fallen from £6.5m to £5.4m. Interim figures for 2007 showed a further decline in revenues and a profit of £86,000. There was net cash of £139,000 at the end of June 2007. The 2007 full year figures haven’t been released yet but IMS hasn’t been in a hurry to issue results in recent times - the 2006 figures were released on 28 June 2007.

The current board believes that this provides an opportunity to improve the financial performance of the company. Mark Robinson remains managing director. 

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