Ecotricity has dramatically withdrawn its request to place founder Dale Vince and Electric Highway MD Simon Crowfoot on the board of its rival Good Energy just two weeks before the vote was due to take place.
Good Energy chairman John Maltby said the company was now seeking “constructive dialogue” with Ecotricity and viewed the move as a “positive step”.
“We hope very much that we can put this matter behind us and would like to thank our customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders for their support,” he said.
The confirmation came in a notice to the market this afternoon, which noted that the two had companies had decided not to proceed with the general meeting.
Good has subsequently moved to indefinitely adjourn the scheduled meeting, which Ecotricity has supported.
Ecotricity launched its representation bid in early July having taken its holding in Good to more than 25%. Good Energy immediately derided the action claiming it would present a “significant conflict of interest” to welcome an immediate rival to its board of directors.
However Vince almost immediately hit back, claiming that Ecotricity’s interest in board representation in part stemmed from concern surrounding contracts worth millions of pounds that were exchanged between Good and the company of CEO Juliet Davenport’s husband Mark Shorrock.
Shorrock founded solar developer Shire Oak Energy, which was appointed by Good to both help the company bolster its portfolio of solar PV assets and train an in-house team within the company to do the same.
Good also invested in another of Shorrock’s companies, Tidal Lagoon Limited, which is engaged with the contentious Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.
Last week Good rallied its shareholders to reject Ecotricity’s approach in a statement which included several sideswipes at its rival.
Ecotricity said it had nothing to add at this moment in time.