Stakeholder concern prompts Superwoman internal review

Superwoman Group is undergoing an internal review after its major shareholder expressed concern with a related party loan.

Superwoman notified the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) yesterday about the internal review, which came about after majority shareholder Intrasia Capital raised a concern about a related party loan made to FIMA Pty Ltd. FIMA is controlled by a relative of the former head of Superwoman, Colin Grant.

The internal review, part of a strategic review that aims to analyse losses incurred by the company since November 2008, comes at the same time that the board of directors has experienced a dramatic restructure. Grant has resigned, along with non-executive director and chairman John Walker and independent and non-executive director Adrianne Gavenlock.

David Harker has taken on the acting managing director role, while acting chief financial officer Grant Winberg has replaced Michael Cogan.

The strategic review is set to be completed by the end of the month.

Intrasia had previously stated that it felt Superwoman was poorly managed.

The FIMA loan was incorrectly reported as a non-related third party loan in an auditor’s report in September 2009, an inaccuracy Superwoman corrected in an update to the ASX in March 2010. At the time, Superwoman also responded to “significant uncertainty” voiced in that auditor’s report that the loan of $540,522 would be recoverable. Superwoman reported to the ASX on 1 April that the loan had been repaid in full.

The growth story for the group seemed a positive one just weeks ago, as Superwoman notified the ASX of its intention to acquire the Members First Group and enter into a joint venture with DMS Funds Management. The group, which has its own financial advice arm, also notified the ASX in April that it had taken a 30 per cent stake in My Adviser.