Morrisons’ former chairman has admitted that he had built a £6 million stake in rival supermarket Sainsbury’s at around the same time that he was criticising his own company’s management.
Following a report in The Times, Sir Ken Morrison - who is son of the supermarket chain’s founder - confirmed that he had bought 2.6m shares in Sainsbury’s only a few months before he publicly slated Morrisons’ board.
At Morrisons' annual general meeting in June 2014, Morrison told shareholders that the strategy of the retailer's then chief executive, Dalton Philips, was “bullshit”.
According to The Times, filings show that in around April of the same year, Morrison had acquired the stake in Morrisons' 'big four' rival Sainsbury’s.
He has argued that the Sainsbury’s stake is “not very significant”, as it amounts to less than 1 per cent of total shares, compared with his much larger stake in Morrisons:“I don’t think it makes any difference really — why not [buy shares in Sainsbury’s]?” he added.
Over the past 12 months, Sainsbury’s shares have gained 9.3 per cent while Morrisons’ shares have fallen 14.8 per cent, as it struggles to fend off competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.
Morrisons also began life in the FTSE 250 this week (w/c 21 December), following its demotion from the FTSE 100.
The Morrison family trust has reduced its shareholding in the Morrisons group over the years, according to the Financial Times, and in 2011 Sir Ken was fined £210,000 by the Financial Services Authority for failing to disclose a sale worth in excess of £400m.
Despite his position as the company’s life president, Morrison has been a vocal critic of the way the grocer has been run since he stepped down from its board in 2008.
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