LV= chief executive Mark Hartigan faces renewed pressure to stand down after MPs step in
LV= chief executive Mark Hartigan is facing renewed pressure to step down from his role, after MP’s called on the exec to exit the mutual insurance firm.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake said: “It is high time Mark Hartigan left the company. Every day he stays he’s earning more of members’ money, and any delaying is only acting in his interests,” Hollinrake said.
Labour MP Gareth Thomas also said: “Mark Hartigan and Alan Cook frittered away a staggering amount of LV owners’ money on their vanity project, which could have been invested in the business and better benefits for members. It’s time for Mark Hartigan to go.”
The calls come as Hartigan has faced consistent pressure to leave the firm, after LV= members blocked a bid to sell the mutual insurer to US private equity firm Bain Capital last year.
The failed takeover deal opened a rift within the 179-year-old mutual which has seen the insurer’s members lead a grassroots campaign against LV=’s senior management.
Over the previous year, the LV= boss has faced mounting scrutiny over the £33m paid out in advisors’ fees during the Bain Capital takeover negotiations, and his own £1m pay package, which included a £511,000 bonus in 2021.