It is the board's intention that one appointment be made by the end of June and the other before the summer holidays if possible." PrimeStone owns 13.5% of Mears, making it the company's biggest shareholder. The battle comes just a year after Shareholder Value Management (SVM), a German investment firm that owns 9.9% of Mears, moved to oust the then chairman Bob Holt. Mr Holt finally resigned at the end of the year, to be succeeded as chairman by Kieran Murphy. Kieran Murphy, a former civil servant turned banker, now faces a similar challenge to his authority. He said he regretted PrimeStone's move. For its part, PrimeStone said that the board needed more commercial savvy. In its pitch to fellow shareholders, it said: "Over the last five years the company's revenues and profit have remained flat despite its strong market position and growth prospects. Cash conversion over the same period has steadily declined from over 90% to 3% in 2018. As a result, average net debt has doubled.