By Charlie Conchie
An executive parachuted in to oversee the sale of the Telegraph, dubbed the “Harrison Ford of restructuring”, has found himself embroiled in a bitter legal battle between a FTSE 100 private equity firm and one of its portfolio companies, City A.M. can reveal.
Stephen Welch, who was appointed as an independent director at the Telegraph and Spectator to shepherd it through its high-profile sale process, is now named as a defendant in legal proceedings between FTSE 100 investor ICG and Irish software ‘unicorn’ Workhuman.
ICG and Workhuman are locked in two separate disputes in Dublin and London as the Irish software firm looks to sever ties with ICG, which owns a ten per cent stake in the company.
A severance of the relationship has been muddied by ICG’s complex ties to Workhuman’s chair and biggest shareholder Barry Maloney. ICG provided Maloney with financing in 2018 to buy a forty per cent stake in Workhuman through his Jersey-based holding company Falcon, taking a seven per cent equity stake in Falcon in the process.
Tensions have been ramped up by a move by ICG to force Telegraph director Welch onto the board at Workhuman despite fierce resistance from the firm. He is now named as a defendant in a case against ICG in Dublin, in which it has accused the firm of intimidation, conspiracy and misrepresentation, City A.M. can reveal.
There is no suggestion Welch was personally involved in these and he has not been accused of wrongdoing by the company.
While Welch initially committed to abiding by a still-to-come court ruling on whether he could take a board seat at Workhuman, he then performed a U-turn in January and demanded to be included in all board meetings and communication, City A.M. understands.
His role is now at the heart of a struggle for control of the tech firm that has obliterated the relationship and spilled into Workhuman’s growth plans. City A.M. revealed earlier this month that the level of animosity between the firms had led Workhuman to rule out any prospect of a potential London IPO.
Welch declined to comment. ICG and Workhuman declined to comment.
While the battle between the two companies has progressed in Dublin and London courts, Welch has separately been shepherding through the high-profile sale of the Telegraph and Spectator in London.
Aussie born Welch, a forensic accountant with over 30 years experience, was initially called in by receivers AlixPartners to represent the interests of the Lloyds Banking group after it placed the firm into receivership. After Lloyds’ debts were repaid, he has stayed on as an independent director alongside fellow turnaround specialist Boudewijn Wentink.
Welch has been dubbed the “Harrison Ford of restructuring” by one European bank executive, the Times reported in December.
