When Families Fight Investors Lose

Now, I only have a vague understanding of their business.

They are a London-centric estate agency with a franchise model covering residential lettings and property management.

I don't really have to look any deeper than that because, to quote Austin Powers, it's really not my bag, baby.

But you don't need to love the underlying sector to see the governance red flags.

The company recently initiated High Court proceedings against its own non-executive chair, Simon Agais, for an alleged breach of contract after he attempted to oust the company's board.

It's clear Mr Agais also allegedly breached duties related to his role as a director under the Companies Act.

Here is the family dynamic.

Simon Agais was Winkler's chief executive for decades until he stepped down as executive head, eventually passing the reins to his son, the current chief executive, Dominic Agais.

Dominic then led the estate agent's listing on London's junior air market back in 2009.

Fast forward to the recent boardroom drama, Simon Agase's wife, who's Dominic's stepmother, allegedly backed the move to completely restructure the board.

For the record, Simon Agase is 83 years old.

Age clearly hasn't dimmed the passion, nor has it made him want to let go of the steering wheel.

Unsurprisingly, the company recently issued a profit warning.

Could their attention possibly be directed elsewhere? According to the Telegraph, Winkworth incurred a £105,000 legal bill during the first six months of this year, with a staggering further £376,000 racked up just between July 1st and September 15th.

The board now expects these ongoing legal and advisory costs to result in reported profit before tax for the full year 2026 being materially below current market expectations.

To quote the company directly, the final impact remains uncertain and will depend on how the ongoing proceedings and related discussions progress.

Normally, regular people would just shrug off a family dispute.

But as public market investors, we aren't interested in funding private family feuds and squabbles.

We certainly don't want our own equity capital being burned to settle domestic scores.