Sir Stuart Rose, executive chairman of Marks & Spencer, has been forced to pull out of his investment in the karaoke concept Lucky Voice due to a conflict of interest.
Rose has sold his £100,000 stake in the group to other shareholders due to his link to Martha Lane Fox, who is both a co-founder of Lucky Voice and a non-executive director at M&S.
Speaking at the Investor Relations Society, Rose said that despite being surprised by the issue having been raised, he had decided to unwind his investment in Lucky Voice, which he added should perhaps have been called Unlucky Voice.
The announcement follows an ongoing row between M&S and its institutional investors, who have been angered by Rose’s elevation to executive chairman.
Fox, who is most renowned for being a dotcom entrepreneur who made £18m from lastminute.com, invested in the start up of the karaoke venture in 2004.
Lucky Voice, which was launched by Nick Thistleton in Soho’s Poland Street, has received investment from a number of other high-profile individuals including Karen Jones, the former chief executive of Spirit Group.
The company had recently unveiled a new multi-million pound fundraising to back the rollout of the venture.
