GROSSART, Hamish McLeod: GROSSART

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Saturday, 12 December 2009

Hamish GROSSART HAS GENDER REASSIGNMENT by The SCOTSMAN!!

A well known comentator and protagonist in maters of seeking Justice rather than suitable outcomes, in the Scottish Courts said of yesterdays verdict in the Scottish Courts:

'Is The Spec losing their grip?'

'In an astounding development Edinburgh's secret legal illuminati, The Speculative Society, saw one of their more high-profile Members, merchant Banker Hamish Grossart, publicly shafted by Mr. McReadie, a mere Sheriff, at Perth'.

'Also in the same Courts Michael Fletcher may too have curtailed his prospects of ever being elevated to the rank of Senator of the College of Justice, the jocular name for the High Court Judges in Scotland who have presided over such travesties as Piper Alpha, Dunblane, Lockerbie, Shirley McKie, Skye Tolls and other gross miscarriages of justice, but let us hail a decent person in the judicial ranks at last'!

For details of the secretive and seemingly malign Speculative Society of Edinburgh, of which Sir Angus Grossart and his considerably less successful nephew Hamish Grossart are both members with some of the most 'dubious' characters in legal and banking circles in Scotland - and for a membership list with certain details and apparent links with Satanism as with the layout of St. Andrew Square, one of the most prestigious addresses in Scottish business circles, home of the failed Royal Bank of Scotland of which Sir Angus Grossart was a director, the bank has had to be subsidised by British tax payer to stay afloat.

For details & Membership of The Spec. CLICK HERE

There are those who question why the likes of Sir Angus Grossart are still seen as doyens of banking, having presided over such a debacle and why tax payers are expected to bail out the bank whilst he still boasts of the £90 Million he made in the good years!

'I never bugged his phone' –
banker Elaine Grossart's ex-wife sets record straight after court win

Date: 12 December 2009

By: Christopher Mackie

SHE is the former wife of a multi-millionaire banking tycoon, caught up in an acrimonious two-year divorce that has seen allegations of bullying, deceit and covert surveillance.

• Elaine Grossart won a £2.3m divorce settlement last year from

her former tycoon husband Hamish Grossart.

Picture: Phil Wilkinson

And yesterday, the tale of Elaine Grossart took a further twist as she was awarded substantial costs after a bitter court battle.

She then went on to issue a strenuous denial that she had ever bugged the phone of her former husband, Hamish Grossart – a member of one of Scotland's most prominent banking dynasties.

Her comments mark the latest instalment in the story of her marriage to, and divorce from, the nephew of Sir Angus Grossart, the founder of the Noble Grossart merchant bank and one of Scotland's most influential business figures.

At Perth Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff Michael Fletcher granted Mrs Grossart expenses believed to total more than £20,000.

At a hearing earlier this year, the sheriff threw out a civil case brought by accountant Andrew Hamilton, who claimed she owed him £7,931 in professional fees.

Mr Hamilton – a former friend of Mrs Grossart and principal of Edinburgh-based chartered accountant Andrew Hamilton & Co – said the money was due for advice during divorce proceedings that saw her land a £2.3 million deal in 2008.

She denied Mr Hamilton had acted as a "professional expert" and said any advice offered to her had been on an informal, friendly basis, without any contract being in place.

Despite claiming she was his client, the court heard Mr Hamilton admit he had failed to carry out proper money-laundering checks on Mrs Grossart – something he said was overlooked because she was "distressed" and "emotional".

Mrs Grossart, 52, told the court Mr Hamilton had been a part of her "Fife set", to which she had turned to discuss her former husband's "bad behaviour".

She claimed Hamish Grossart was a bully, who subjected her to "physical and sexual assault" and stopped her from dancing with other men at functions.

She also accused him of ordering her hair to be cut in a certain way.

Eventually, Mr Hamilton's case was dismissed, with Sheriff Fletcher dubbing him a "Bertie Wooster" character, likening him to the upper-class, but unreliable PG Wodehouse hero.

In reports of the hearings, Mrs Grossart was accused of hiring a private investigator to bug her husband's phone at Pitlour Estate in Perthshire, fearing he was hiding millions of pounds from her following their 11-year marriage. But speaking after her court appearance yesterday, she strenuously denied ever spying on her former husband.

"I did not bug my husband's phone, and I am not sure who planted this," she told The Scotsman.

"If that was the case, I would be in chains myself. It is a criminal offence to bug a phone, and I wouldn't even know where to start.

"You have to have possession of the phone to do it in the first place. I have never bugged his phone – it is a total travesty. If I had been known to tap the phone, I would have been dealt with very severely.

It is a complete untruth."

She added: "I want to set the record straight. I haven't done so in the past, because I have had more important things to do. It has been wrongly referred to in the press all through the case – the judgment is there and can prove that."

Mrs Grossart, who now plans to concentrate on her charity work, said the experience had been "emotional".

"I have got my expenses and I am delighted with the outcome," she said. "I am very relieved. I am at the end of a very long and hard road, and I am glad it is behind me and I can concentrate on what is important to me – being a mum and all the other things I am involved with."

Mr Hamilton described yesterday's sheriff court ruling as "very unfortunate". The exact figure due to Mrs Grossart will now be determined by an audit of the expenses she incurred during the process.

Hamish Grossart could not be contacted for comment.

To view the original article CLICK HERE

Hamish McLeod GROSSART52 born 07-Apr-1957

SPECulative Society of Edinburgh Member

IndigoVision
Non-Executive Chairman joined the board as chairman in 1996.Cairn Energy PLC
currently also non-executive deputy chairmanCairn India Limited
a non-executive director Member and Chairman of the Audit, Remuneration, Nomination & Corporate Governance Committees

British Polythene Industries PLC
Deputy Chairman
Artemis Investment Management Limited
a non-executive director
PAST ACHIEVEMENTS!!
Quality Care Homes
Scottish Radio Holdings
Digital Bridges
Barker & Dobson - (Drayton Consolidated Trust) - Alma Holdings
Royal Doulton
Eclipse Blinds
Scottish Highland Hotels
Hicking Pentecost
EFT Group

He has over 20 years' experience on public company boards, in a wide range of industries,

both in an executive and non-executive capacity, frequently with catastrophic consequences.

He has left:
a long trail of broken lives, betrayed staff, colleagues and women,

who have suffered from his emotional inadequacies and lack of maturity.

A weak and bullying individual, who brings shame and unhappiness to his children,
and those who misguidedly cared for him, as he sets out to prove his worth to himself.

Always acting egocentrically at the expense of those he can bully, exploit and control.
An emotional Narcissist & a manipulative sociopath.

Monday, 27 April 2009

27-Apr-09 - Evening Standard - Pay inflation? Cairn't believe it

Pay inflation? Cairn't believe it

More extraordinary wage inflation among the part-time fat cats who lead our major companies. Private-equity financier Norman Murray, chairman of Cairn Energy, saw his pay at the FTSE 100 explorer soar 43% last year, to £200,000 from £140,000. There is no explanation for the rise for a job that troubles Murray no more than a few days a month.

The increase came after a review by pay consultants Hewitt New Bridge Street. Given this firm advised that all the directors should get pay boosts, a grateful Cairn board was delighted to pay its fee...

* Grounds for a separate dust-up at Cairn's AGM next month is the role of Hamish Grossart, who is Cairn's £105,000-a-year (up 16%) part-time deputy chairman. Some shareholders claim any notion that Grossart can be called an “independent director” is a nonsense — Grossart has been on the Cairn board for 15 years (longer than half the executives) and been deputy chairman since 1996. Cairn says it has “thoroughly reviewed the matter” and concluded “there is no evidence that length of tenure is having an adverse impact on his independence”. A clue, however, to how touchy this is all getting is the fact that Grossart has given up the boardroom role of “senior independent director”.

To view the original article LINK

Hamish McLeod GROSSART52 born 07-Apr-1957

SPECulative Society of Edinburgh Member

He has over 20 years' experience on public company boards, in a wide range of industries,

both in an executive and non-executive capacity, frequently with catastrophic consequences.

He has left:
a long trail of broken lives, betrayed staff, colleagues and women,

who have suffered from his emotional inadequacies and lack of maturity.

A weak and bullying individual, who brings shame and unhappiness to his children,

and those who misguidedly cared for him, as he sets out to prove his worth to himself.

Always acting egocentrically at the expense of those he can bully, exploit and control.
An emotional Narcissist & a manipulative sociopath.

Thursday, 2 October 2008

HERALD SCOTLAND - Tim SHARP - 02-Oct-08 - ARTEMIS SELL OFF for £100M

Artemis duo sells off stake for £100m TIM SHARP

Published on 2 Oct 2008

John Dodd and Mark Tyndall, the senior members of Artemis Asset Management�s founding quartet, have netted more than £50m apiece from the sale of their stakes to majority owner Fortis after efforts to find an alternative shareholder foundered.

John Dodd and Mark Tyndall, the senior members of Artemis Asset Management's founding quartet, have netted more than £50m apiece from the sale of their stakes to majority owner Fortis after efforts to find an alternative shareholder foundered.

Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis paid £317.2m for management's 32.9% holding in the Edinburgh-based investment boutique, valuing the whole business at £964m, but Artemis management yesterday said the deal was "not our preferred option".

Filings at Companies House show that Tyndall, Artemis's chief executive, and Dodd, who was recently hit by a £107,000 civil penalty after illegal pesticides that could have threatened birds of prey were found in bait on his Glenogil estate in Angus, own stakes of more than 5% each in the company, giving them upwards of £50m apiece from yesterday's deal.

Derek Stuart and Lindsay Whitelaw, who co-founded the company with them in 1997, picked up £26m and £19m respectively. Artemis declined to confirm the figures yesterday.

Big pay-outs have also gone to high-profile fund managers Philip Wolstencroft, formerly of Merrill Lynch and Adrian Frost, ex-Deutsche Asset Management, who both joined the company in 1999. They received £24m and £18m respectively.

Company chairman Hamish McLeod Grossart, nephew of Sir Angus Grossart founder of investment bank Noble Grossart, got £5m in return for his 2.5 million shares.

Chief operating officer Mark Murray received £11m and fixed interest manager James Foster, who joined three years ago from F&C, reaped £2m.

The pay-outs were triggered by a change of control clause following Fortis's acquisition of previous majority shareholder, Dutch bank ABN Amro last October.

Fortis has long indicated its desire to sell its holding in Artemis, which has assets under management of £14.8bn.

Its own financial pressures forced the company to sell stakes to the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments in an 11bn (£8.7bn) rescue deal on Sunday and it is still in a vulnerable position after plans to sell assets to China's Ping An Insurance and Deutsche Bank fell apart yesterday.

But months of talks failed to find an alternative shareholder for Artemis.

Artemis management yesterday indicated it is still exploring ways of regaining a stake in the business.

Artemis communications manager Nick Wells said of the deal: "This is not our preferred option."

He added: "What has caused the real issue is the turbulence of markets. If you were thinking of doing a deal you would probably step back at the moment."

Wells said that Fortis had promised to preserve Artemis's "entrepreneurial environment" and has told its management they will be "fully involved" in the discussion on the future of the company.

He said the company had held discussions with several "interested parties" over the past few months.

Among the names linked to an offer were US fund managers Federated Investors, Franklin Templeton and Putnam.

But he said that the change of control clause had to be exercised within a year of ABN Amro's takeover by Fortis, prompting yesterday's move.

He added: "There is more of the story to come. When it will come I don't know. We would expect to see the market in a more relaxed state first. We are talking months rather than weeks."

He indicated that management wanted to regain their stake in the company.

"Our ideal position really is the same as we had with ABN Amro where we have a well established shareholder with an equity interest that lets us get on with things. That has worked extremely well."

He added: "Fortis fully understands that the value of Artemis is as an intact operation."

The current board structure with three Artemis managers, and three representatives from Fortis will remain. He said no redundancies were planned.

To view the original of this article CLICK HERE

Hamish McLeod GROSSART52 born 07-Apr-1957

SPECulative Society of Edinburgh Member

He has over 20 years' experience on public company boards, in a wide range of industries,

both in an executive and non-executive capacity, frequently with catastrophic consequences.

He has left:
a long trail of broken lives, betrayed staff, colleagues and women,

Always acting egocentrically at the expense of those he can bully, exploit and control.
An emotional Narcissist & a manipulative sociopath.

Tuesday, 27 April 2004

ROYAL DOULTON - 27 & 28-Apr-2004 House of Commons

Extract from The Parliamentary Debate of 27-Apr-2004
commencing Column 216WH of Hansard
to read the whole debate for context CLICK HERE .

EXTRACTED News Release

28th April 2004

Michael FABRICANT BLAMES

"CRASS INCOMPETENCE"

FOR CLOSURE OF ROYAL DOULTON

In a wide ranging debate in the House of Commons called by Joan Walley, Member of Parliament Stoke on Trent North, Michael Fabricant yesterday (27th April) accused the management of Royal Doulton of "crass incompetence" and laid the finger of blame on its chairman Hamish Grossart and the "short termism" of its financial investors M&G and Mercury Asset Management. Michael Fabricant says: "If managed properly, Royal Doulton and its associated companies needn't have closed. There are lessons here not only for the ceramics industry, but for manufacturing as a whole in the UK. The present management blamed everyone else for the shortcomings in Royal Doulton: the market place, the workers, the trade unions. But they should have looked at themselves".

There now follows the text of the speech which is protected by Parliamentary Privilege:-

Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): I am delighted that the debate has taken place today, and I particularly want to congratulate my hon. Friend-I use that term advisedly-the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley) on securing it, and the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly) on the valuable work he has done. I rise to speak not only as a shadow trade and industry minister but as a Staffordshire Member of Parliament. Hon. Members have already pointed out that there are structural problems in the ceramics industry as a whole. I would like to pay brief tribute to the work of the Ceramic Industry Forum operating in the European Parliament, which is chaired jointly by Malcolm Harbour and Michael Cashman.

There are problems in the ceramics industry generally, but the problems at Royal Doulton have been exacerbated by the crass incompetence of the recent management. The hon. Lady has already pointed out the history of Royal Doulton, so it is clear that the demise of the company is not just the demise of a single factory or firm. A short time ago, it was the leading English group of fine china companies. The English fine china business has always been cyclical, but it has been a proud and successful exporter of fine English products.

In the early 1980s, as we heard, Pearson found that the business was not performing to its expectations. Its response was not to close down the company but to bring in a new chief executive to give the business inspired and creative leadership. It engaged Stuart Lyons, who had a background in menswear manufacturing, and had previously been managing director of the UDS retail group.

In those days, Stuart Lyons, with the support of the Pearson chairman, Viscount Blakenham, introduced new manufacturing technology to the tableware, figurine and glass-making operations, and combined that with innovative design and marketing programmes. In addition to the existing markets of Canada, the USA and Australia, he opened distribution subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and the company's products were sold in 80 countries around the globe. Royal Doulton became the world's leading specialist fine china retailer, with more than 400 branches, including the Lawleys shops in England and a successful chain in America.

However, 10 years ago, when the Pearson group decided to concentrate on its media activities, Lord Blakenham invited Stuart Lyons, who had by then been awarded a CBE for services to the china industry, to make the business public and gain a separate listing on the London stock exchange. Royal Doulton plc was listed in December 1993, and in the three years that followed the company doubled its earnings per share and delivered dividend increases of 13 per cent. annually. It was a success. Annual turnover was more than £250 million, with profits rising to £17.6 million. On the strength of that achievement, further expansion was planned. It was apparent that the brand names of Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Royal Crown Derby and Minton, all part of the Royal Doulton group, were more powerful in the USA than the distribution that they commanded. America was then, as now, the world's richest market, and the company had already opened a chain of 50 stores there that were well managed and commercially profitable. Guaranteeing Royal Doulton's success, and safeguarding the work force in north Staffordshire, depended on further penetration of the US market, as well as on building up the United Kingdom market.

With the full support of his board, his independent chairman, the banks and the company's financial advisers, Lyons spent many months negotiating the agreed acquisition of a large and profitable retail group in the USA. That should have been a further step in Royal Doulton's expansion and a significant boost to the Stoke-on-Trent economy.

Life is not always so simple. Two institutional holders of Royal Doulton shares-they held 25 per cent. of the equity between them-failed to understand the strategic logic of the proposal and adopted a policy of short-termism, refusing to support the proposal. That is one of the costs of the free market: those who own shares in companies are free to make mistakes. At that time, the Royal Doulton share price stood at about £2.50. Today, after a series of rights issues at ever lower prices, it stands at less than one twentieth of that figure, having fallen as low as 3p.

Stuart Lyons left the business rather than preside over a new strategy in which he had no confidence. A new management team took over. Their first step was publicly to belittle the company that they now led. They then proceeded to dismantle Royal Doulton's design, marketing and retailing teams worldwide. They rationalised-if rationalisation is the word-stocks, warehouses and advertising budgets, and wondered why the company's sales went into freefall. Unwilling to blame themselves, they blamed the previous management, the work force, the economy, the marketplace, the Government and the trade unions.

For the past seven years, Royal Doulton has made trading losses, having made substantial profits every year for the previous 12. Every loss has led to further cuts, to factory closures and to job losses. Only the top management team is protected, with high salaries, share options, housing allowances, bonus entitlements and free trips abroad. Hamish Grossart, the chairman, has much to answer for, as do M&G and Mercury Asset Management. They have demonstrated clearly that those are the destructive forces, forces of short-termism and lack of vision that have seen the destruction of the well-respected Royal Doulton company.

This is not a saga about party politics or political philosophy. It is a tragedy for the people of Stoke-on-Trent and of Staffordshire generally. It is also a tragedy for the English exporting effort, for investors in Royal Doulton and for Customs. I endorse the series of questions asked by the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North and those asked by other Members including the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme. I look forward to a full response from the Minister.

To view the original of this extract CLICK HERE

Hamish McLeod GROSSART52 born 07-Apr-1957

SPECulative Society of Edinburgh Member

British Polythene Industries PLC
Deputy Chairman
Artemis Investment Management Limited
a non-executive directorScottish Radio Holdings
Royal Doulton

He has over 20 years' experience on public company boards, in a wide range of industries,

both in an executive and non-executive capacity, frequently with catastrophic consequences.

He has left:
a long trail of broken lives, betrayed staff, colleagues and women,

who have suffered from his emotional inadequacies and lack of maturity.

A weak and bullying individual, who brings shame and unhappiness to his children,

and those who misguidedly cared for him, as he sets out to prove his worth to himself.

Always acting egocentrically at the expense of those he can bully, exploit and control.
An emotional Narcissist & a manipulative sociopath.

Thursday, 22 April 2004

INDEPENDENT - Rachel STEVENSON - 22-Apr-04 DOULTON GROSSMAN A DISASTER

INDEPENDENT - Rachel STEVENSON - 22-Apr-04 DOULTON GROSSMAN A DISASTER
MP in angry clash with Doulton

By Rachel Stevenson

Thursday, 22 April 2004

Hamish Grossart, the chairman of Royal Doulton, the ceramics company that ended 200 years of production in the Potteries this year, clashed with a Labour MP yesterday over the dire performance of the company over the past six years.

Hamish Grossart, the chairman of Royal Doulton, the ceramics company that ended 200 years of production in the Potteries this year, clashed with a Labour MP yesterday over the dire performance of the company over the past six years.

Paul Farrelly, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, urged Doulton shareholders to force Mr Grossart out at its annual meeting.

He said Mr Grossart had overseen a slump in the company's share price from above 250p to 9p, a rise in pre-tax losses to £127m and the loss of 4,000 jobs. Most of Doulton's goods are now made in Indonesia. "You have a consistent record of failure," Mr Farrelly said.

Mr Grossart dismissed the redundancies as an "economic reality" and said Mr Farrelly's concerns were "politically motivated" rather than being in the interests of shareholders. He defended his record at the helm of the group since 1998, saying he had saved it from destruction. "Your comments may be appropriate to the House of Commons, but not for a shareholder meeting. This company was heading for the knackers yard and it has survived," he said.

Mr Farrelly, a former financial journalist, demanded to know why Wayne Nutbeen, the chief executive, had been allowed to jet off for a luxury holiday to Zanzibar immediately after announcing the closure of its last UK factory and the loss of 525 jobs earlier this year.

Geoff Bragnall, of the Ceramic and Allied Trades Union, said staff felt "utterly betrayed" by the management, which had in September said UK restructuring was complete.

Mr Farrelly, a shareholder himself, said: "How can a cash-strapped company pay an extra £64,000 to relocate Mr Nutbeen's family back to Australia? The chairman is paid £120,000 for working part time - we obviously cannot afford him full time."

The pay awards, however, were deemed merely "fashionable" by Mr Grossart, who said Doulton executives were paid less than their rivals and had not received performance bonuses for the past four years.

Some shareholders hope that Waterford Wedgwood, the rival ceramics company with a 21 per cent stake in Doulton, will stage a takeover. Sir Anthony O'Reilly, the chairman of Wedgwood, has a personal stake of nearly 3 per cent which he added to as recently as January. Wedgwood yesterday declined to comment on its stake in the group.

To view the original article CLICK HERE