CHAIRMAN DISAPPEARS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 566, 19 January 1929, Page 13

CHAIRMAN DISAPPEARS

LONDON BUSINESS STIR AFFAIRS OF A COMPANY (Australian and N.Z . Press Association) LONDON, Wednesday. A sensation was caused on the London Stock Exchange by the directors of Nersag, Dtd., announcing publicly that the whereabouts of Mr. Brandreth, late chairman, and his wife, who was a director, could not be traced. They had not fulfilled promises they had made to supply information to a meeting on January 11. The new chairman, Sir John H. Biles, ship designer, announced that it must be concluded that Mr. and Mrs. Brandreth/s accounts were not reliable. Therefore, it was not proposed to pay a final dividend or to distribute a bonus on the shares.

Mr. Brandreth has had a remarkable career. He began by making supports for mattresses on a very small scale. He had a tiny home at Ilford. His business, his staff and his premises grew into a company with a capital of £IOO,OOO, which was formed in 1927. The £1 shares once reached £O. Last year the Nersag Overseas Company was formed with a capital of £250,000 in £ 1 shares. These reached 30s 9d. Consequent upon to-day’s announcement, the shares in the parent company dropped from 43s 9d to 30s.