RBG Holdings shares plummet after professional services firm fires chief executive

Shares in RBG Holdings today plummeted by more than nine per cent after the troubled professional services group said it had fired its chief executive.

The AIM-listed professional services conglomerate said in a statement that its board has “lost confidence” in chief executive Nicola Foulston as it stated her “employment contract has been terminated with immediate effect.”

RBG Holdings explained the decision to fire Foulston had come about as a result of “cultural concerns and the execution of the group’s strategy”.

Chief operating officer John Divers will take over as chief executive.

Foulston’s firing comes as shares in RBG Holdings – which owns two law firms, including Rosenblatt, an M&A advisory company, and a litigation funder – have lost more than half of their value over the previous year.

Shares in the RBG plunged in value in December after the professional services group said its litigation funding arm, Lionfish, will take a £4m hit to its balance sheet in relation to lost cases.

RBG said in a statement it is pushing forwards with plans to reduce its exposure to the third-party litigation funding commitments it has through Lionfish, as it said its board is currently in talks with a “number of interested parties”.

The firm, however, said it expects to post revenues of £49.5m and adjusted pre-tax profit of £6.9m for 2022 – in line with market expectations.

Foulston joined Rosenblatt in 2016 as chief executive of the City law firm, before taking up the position as head of the entirety of RBG Holdings in 2018.

The City businesswoman previously acted as chief executive of Kent motor racing circuit Brands Hatch leading its float on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 before taking up a position as chairwoman of venture capital fund VV Capital.

In December 2022, Foulston upped her stake in RBG to 12.3 per cent.

RBG Holdings said that trading in its businesses, including law firms Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal and M&A advisory firm Convex Capital, had been “robust” despite “challenging economic conditions”.

The firm said its “balance sheet remains strong” as it said it intends to pay a second dividend for the financial year 2022, which will be announced in its upcoming results.