Rose to address thorny issues

Marks & Spencer's Chief Executive Stuart Rose is to attempt to persuade shareholders to back him rather than retail tycoon Philip Green.

11:24 10 July 2004

Marks & Spencer's Chief Executive Stuart Rose is to attempt to persuade shareholders to back him rather than retail tycoon Philip Green.

Mr Green, who has now made his final 9.1billion pound offer for the retail giant, believes he has the support of shareholders with U.S. firm Brandes with 11.7 percent and Schroders with 1.2 percent backing the tycoon.

Mr Green's final offer was dismissed as inadequate by the M&S board earlier in the week, but the business tycoon hopes that shareholder pressure will persuade them to change their mind.

However, shareholders are likely to wait to consider the details of Rose's turnaround plan on Monday before making any decision.

"We're all focused on Monday now," said a spokesman for Green. "If shareholders think Rose has done a good job on Monday and they don't want Philip's money, then fine, we'll walk away."

Mr Rose will need to demonstrate that the company is worth more than the 400p per share that Mr Green is offering. His biggest task will be to guarentee investors a cash return as a reward for their loyalty during M&S's worst trading period to date.