Wey Education PLC Successful in High Court Claim against former CEO (5738D)

TIDMWEY

RNS Number : 5738D

Wey Education PLC

07 July 2016

7 July 2016

WEY EDUCATION PLC

("Wey" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Company successful in High Court Claim against former CEO Dr Zenna Atkins,

also known as Zenna Hopson

Wey Education Plc ("Wey") together with Wey's wholly owned subsidiary, previously called Zail Enterprises Limited, ("Zail"), together the "Company" is pleased to announce that it has prevailed in the High Court action against Wey's former CEO, Zenna Atkins, ("Atkins" or "Hopson"), alleging various breaches of her duties to the Company.

The Court found that Atkins / Hopson had:-

   a.   Breached certain of her fiduciary duties to the Company on various matters; 
   b.   Breached her duty of loyalty to the Company; 
   c.   Acted to further her own interests at the Company's expense; 

d. Improperly disclosed financial and confidential information about the Company to third parties;

   e.   Embellished facts to advance her own position; 
   f.    Improperly encouraged various consultants to cease working with the Company; 
   g.   Deleted her inbox "to avoid disclosure of her own misconduct"; 
   h.   Not as she maintained acted out of a sense of public spirit or duty; and 
   i.    Improperly accepted a directorship of a Company client without disclosure or approval. 

Significantly, the Judge found that in relation to an allegation of fraud Atkins / Hopson made to the Department for Education ("DfE") against the Company and its officers, she had no proper basis for any such allegation and she was acting to pursue her own agenda.

As a consequence, the Company has been awarded damages of GBP38,046. The Company will be applying for an order that Atkins / Hopson pay its costs at a subsequent hearing.

The board of the Company regrets that these proceedings were necessary, but faced with the conduct of Atkins / Hopson, in particular in relation to the wrongful and harmful allegation of fraud made to the DfE, felt that in the interests of all shareholders, they had to act.

The Company intends to apply to have the currently stayed Employment Tribunal action dismissed and for an order that Atkins / Hopson pays the costs of those proceedings as well. The Company hopes that this matter will now be swiftly concluded.

Background

Atkins / Hopson is the former Chairman of Ofsted and served for a number of years as an external member of the Navy Board and Chairman of its Audit Committee. She was also a non-executive director of the Treasury.

In 2011, Wey acquired Zail from Atkins / Hopson and she was appointed CEO of Wey. On 6(th) December 2012, Atkins / Hopson was suspended on full pay by Wey, pending investigation into various matters which were causing the board of Wey concern.

Atkins / Hopson was invited to attend a disciplinary hearing on 24(th) January 2013. In response, Atkins / Hopson resigned with immediate effect and did not attend the disciplinary hearing.

Subsequently, Atkins / Hopson issued proceedings in the Employment Tribunal alleging, inter alia, Constructive Unfair Dismissal for detriments resulting from her 'whistleblowing'. In response, Wey issued proceedings in the High Court alleging breach of fiduciary duty by Atkins / Hopson and successfully applied for a stay of the Employment Tribunal proceedings. In the High Court the Judge has found that her allegations could not be justified as whistleblowing.

One element of the case was the deletion by Atkins / Hopson, before she resigned, of all the emails she had received and sent out on behalf of Wey / Zail and thereby denying the Company details of much of their business records. The case was due to come to trial in April 2015 but shortly before trial Atkins finally revealed that she had taken and maintained on her home computer over 16,000 items of correspondence. The trial was postponed and finally heard in April 2016. Judgment has been given today by HHJ David Cooke (the "Judge").

The Company note that Atkins / Hopson disposed of her entire shareholding in Wey during the course of the proceedings.

Enquiries:

 
 Wey Education plc                        [phone] 
  David Massie (Chairman)                            9700 
 
 WH Ireland Limited 
  (Nominated Adviser and Broker)          [phone] 
  Ed Allsopp (Corporate Finance)                     3470 
 Yellow Jersey PR Limited 
  Alistair de Kare-Silver             [phone] 
  Dominic Barretto                    [phone] 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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July 07, 2016 07:32 ET (11:32 GMT)