Comvita chair Bridget Coates is facing a vote of no confidence amid a call for her removal at the Manuka honey maker’s shareholder meeting next month.
In a filing with the local stock exchange in New Zealand today (28 September), signed off by Coates, it was revealed Comvita co-founder Alan Bougen, former chairman Neil Craig and ex-director Robert Tait have called for her removal as an independent director.
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Coates has been a director since 2021 and chair since 2024. However, despite the completion of a recapitalisation exercise, a new shareholder coming on board and a return to profitability, she risks being removed at the annual meeting on 28 October.
Other directors are also facing pressure to step down, including from PHC Investments, which holds around a 11.7% interest in Comvita as a minority shareholder alongside Singapore’s Fraser & Neave (F&N). F&N took part in the recent funding exercise.
PHC is proposing the removal of Robert Major as an independent director, a role he has filled since 2019, and Gregor Barclay. He has been an independent director since December 2025.
Meanwhile, current F&N director Kosit Suksingha has been put forward as a non-independent candidate by the Singaporean firm.
Comvita said in its exchange filing that the business “has undergone significant change” since its annual meeting last year.
“Restoring profitability and completing the recapitalisation to strengthen the balance sheet were the board’s most critical focus areas in FY-26, and Comvita stands on considerably firmer ground than it did a year ago,” it read.
“The business has stronger foundations, improved financial resilience and enhanced capability to deliver ongoing operational improvement, targeted growth and long-term value creation.”
Other Comvita directors have offered themselves for re-election by shareholders next month, including independent director Michael Sang.
Michael Chye, Peter Nathan and Julia Xu, who were all “appointed by the board to fill casual vacancies” are also up for renomination as non-independent directors.
“Comvita entered FY27 with the foundations required for long-term success: a trusted global brand, a more diversified channel footprint, a strengthened leadership team, increased resilience and greater strategic flexibility,” according to the filing.
“The focus now is on delivering the company’s strategy: continuing to improve operational performance and returns, pursuing targeted growth opportunities and maintaining financial discipline.”
Comvita halted two years of net losses in the 12 months through June, results issued in August showed.
It delivered a net profit of NZ$7.7m (US$4.3m today) compared to a loss of NZ$104.8m a year earlier. Revenue climbed more than 10% to NZ$213m.
The company closed a capital raise of NZ$40.5m in May, including a contribution from F&N.
Last year, Comvita found itself in the throes of a takeover offer from Manuka honey rival Florenz but the deal failed to get the backing of its shareholders.
When the transaction was terminated in November last year, Coates described the difficulties facing the business: “Recent years have been challenging for Comvita and its shareholders, with sustained sector pressures, softer market conditions and the demands of a complex turnaround weighing on performance.
“Comvita has faced ongoing pressure from structural changes in the Manuka honey sector, which continues to face oversupply, price and demand volatility, and intense competition, including online.”
