Hedge fund wins battle to remove board members at NH Hotels

A UK hedge fund has won a high-stakes boardroom battle at boutique hotels chain NH Hotels after shareholders voted to boot out the chairman and three other members.

Mayfair-based Oceanwood Capital led an activist campaign against the four, who it said had a conflict of interest because they were linked to the Spanish hotels company’s biggest shareholder, Chinese firm HNA Group.

Shareholders voted to replace the four members, including chairman Charles Mobus, at a meeting in Madrid yesterday.

The board subsequently decided to remove NH Hotels’ chief executive, Federico Gonzalez. No replacement has been announced. HNA hit out, claiming Oceanwood was trying to “coerce” it into making a tender offer for the 71.5% of shares it does not own.

Oceanwood said: “We are backing a long-term incentive plan that will be linked to free cash flow, cost efficiency, deleverage and in turn, a sustainable dividend policy. We are committed to generating value for all shareholders and will ensure the highest standards of corporate governance are implemented going forwards.”