Oddsen quits Lighthouse Caledonia in shares row

Published on Thursday 4 March 2010 19:54

ODDGEIR Oddsen, the Norwegian chief executive of Scotland's largest independent salmon farmer, has resigned after being suspended over unreported share sales in December.

Chairman Jim Mullins will run Lighthouse Caledonia until a replacement is found.

A spat between Oddsen and the board emerged when he released a statement on Wednesday saying that he had been suspended. Later that day, the firm said the notice was a "personal statement made by OddGeir Oddsen and not issued by the company".

A further statement said that Oddsen had sold all his stock in the firm, amounting to 1,714,087 shares. Yesterday, the firm announced Oddsen's resignation.

"There were some shares he sold in December that weren't flagged on the stock exchange and that was the issue," said Su Cox, a spokeswoman for Lighthouse Caledonian.

The bust-up comes after the firm revealed improved figures for 2009, with revenue up more than 40 per cent. The firm hit trouble at the end of 2008, when it shut its fish processing base in Stornoway with the loss of 130 jobs. A rescue came from a private equity investor, Northern Link, which took a stake of more than 50 per cent in the firm

The company's head office is in Edinburgh, but it is listed on Norway's Axess junior stock exchange.

Meanwhile, the the firm has announced plans to restructure and effectively re-domicile in Jersey as the Scottish Salmon Company.