‘Not easy ride’: private equity’s Simon Moore leaves AMA

afr.com:

Private equity veteran Simon Moore is leaving the board of AMA after a tumultuous period with Australia’s biggest smash repair chain.

Mr Moore’s revealed his upcoming resignation on Thursday, saying his time had “certainly not been a straight line or an easy ride” but he was confident in Melbourne-based AMA’s outlook.

Simon Moore.  Rob Homer

He is the final member of AMA’s pre-coronavirus board to depart.

The company, at its annual general meeting, also said underlying trading was improving and it was plugging a skills shortage by hiring another 100 technicians from the Philippines, running an apprenticeship program and recruiting locally.

The 140 repair-shop chain’s main clients are insurers. But AMA struggled to recover after being whacked by COVID-19 shutdowns, tough contracts with insurers, multiple capital raisings and governance struggles.

It has posted more than $450 million in losses since 2020 and shares have shrunk from $1.26 in pre-pandemic 2019 to be trading at 7¢ on Thursday.

AMA even sued former chief executive Andy Hopkins in the Federal Court, accusing him of wrongly billing the company for up to $1.7 million in expenses, such as spending on cars and bonuses, and seeking the return of a $1.4 million loan. Mr Hopkins has counter-sued, alleging he is actually owed more than $5 million by AMA including underpayments and lost bonuses, and those matters are ongoing.

That blow-up erupted publicly in January 2021 when Mr Hopkins tried fighting a move to oust him from the company.

Mr Hopkins responded in legal documents that he was targeted after raising investor concerns about related-party transactions tied to fellow director Mr Moore, who is senior partner at private equity business Colinton Capital, which was