The Hipgnosis Songs Fund has appointed Robert Naylor as its new Chair after shareholders opted not to reappoint Andrew Sutch in that role at last month's continuation vote.
Naylor is CEO of Intuitive Investments Group, but - more importantly for shareholders in the Hipgnosis fund - until recently he was also Chair of the Round Hill Music Royalty Fund, the catalogues of which have just been acquired by Concord in a $468.8 million deal.
In his new role, he will oversee a strategic review of the Hipgnosis fund that seeks to allay ongoing concerns among its shareholders. “I’m excited to be joining Hipgnosis Songs Fund”, he says. “I look forward to working with the board and shareholders as we conduct the strategic review and put forward proposals for the future of the company".
Many shareholders in the music rights-owning Hipgnosis Songs Fund have been critical of late about the publicly listed entity's board and their advisors at Hipgnosis Song Management. Which is why, at last month's routine continuation vote, the vast majority voted against continuation, forcing a "reset" of the Fund's operations.
A key concern of investors is the Fund's share price. The board had proposed selling a number of its catalogues to the separate Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital, with a plan to use the profits to buy back shares and service a credit facility. The aim being to boost the Fund’s share price.
However, there was criticism of the Hipgnosis-to-Hipgnosis deal among shareholders. Some felt that the price being offered by the other Hipgnosis entity was not high enough. Sources said that that opinion was partly influenced by the Round Hill Music Royalty Fund’s agreement with Concord, which had been announced a week earlier.
The board also instigated the strategic review and Sutch confirmed that he would stand down at some point in the next year. Two other directors then also announced that they were standing down. But none of that was enough to get investors to back the continuation vote or reappoint Sutch.
Naylor is also joined on the board by another new director, this time music industry exec Francis Keeling, who previously had stints at Universal Music and Spotify, and is currently EVP of Business Development at Orfium. He was also a non-executive director of the Round Hill Music Royalty Fund **** prior to the sale of its catalogues to Concord.
“On behalf of the board, we are delighted that Robert and Francis have agreed to join Hipgnosis Songs Fund”, says senior independent director Sylvia Coleman. “Robert and Francis’s appointments follow extensive engagement with shareholders, and their experience and knowledge working with investment companies, most notably at Round Hill Music Fund, will be invaluable to Hipgnosis as we look ahead to the next chapter".