Budget carrier easyJet will emerge as victor in a tussle with founder and biggest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou over the future of its chairman Sir Mike Rake.
According to weekend reports shareholders will vote against Haji-Ioannou’s attempt to Rake, who is also the deputy chairman of Barclays.
Haji-Ioannou originally called for Rake to stand down at easyJet when it was suggested he might take over at Barclays in the wake of the Libor inter-bank interest rate fixing scandal.
However, even though that will not happen Haji-Ioannou has continued to insist Rake should go, claiming he has too many commitments.
The Sunday Times reported that easyJet has secured enough shareholder backing to defeat Haji-Ioannou at a meeting due to be held today.
A similar vote on executive pay at the airline saw him defeated when 56% of shareholders sided with the board and reports suggest easyJet has secured a similar level of backing this time.
Stelios and his family owns 37.5% of easyJet shares and the row over Rake is just the latest in a -series of bust-ups about the strategic direction in which the airline is going.
The Sunday Times said another fall out is imminent with easyJet poised to make a significant order for new aircraft, an issues on which Haji-Ioannou has fallen out with the current management previously.