Friends at The Corporate Zoo

Cornwall’s troubles within Eidos Plc. started in the late 1990s after the company failed the UK’s Financial Aspect of Corporate Governance, otherwise known as the Cadbury Committee Report. In August 1997, the Financial Conduct Authority commenced investigations into questionable share dealings among the company’s executives, who included Cornwall.

When the FCA’s investigations became public on Friday, August 15, 1997, the company’s shares dropped nearly 20% in value. According to the company’s financials at the time, Eidos had just announced a pre-tax loss of £4.9 million in the three months ending June 1997.

When confronted with the FCA investigations’s claims by journalists, Cornwall systematically tried to lay the blame for the fall in value on their auditors, Cooper & Lybrand (now PwC), who had by then tendered their resignation.

In typical sociopathic manner, which we have since seen was common to Cornwall’s involvement with several of Brett Kebble’s entities, it wasn’t his fault. Unasked, and with sheer arrogance, he carried on to explain that the auditors were quitting because Eidos Plc. had failed to comply with various Cadbury Committee’s guidelines. And that, he thought, would make it all better and soothe the market. He was wrong. In the subsequent three years, the company’s stock continued to bleed value. In the year leading to Cornwall’s unceremonious departure in November of 2000, the company had lost a further 70% of its value.

But as the values were dropping, the company directors were secretly swapping shares and trading. In March 1998, as talks of a possible take-over of Eidos Plc. by an undisclosed company were in progress, Eidos’ founder Stephen Streater quietly sold his 85,000 shares to Cornwall at way below the market price at the time.

This sale was highly illegal as directors of listed companies are forbidden from dealing in their company securities at any time that they are in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information pertaining to those securities. But of course, they could sue Cornwall if they wanted to. Nobody sued.

Seemingly with the knowledge of his fellow board members at the time, Cornwall had already gotten into bed with the Brett Kebble crew and his mind was ticking with mining, gold and derivatives. The London investment traders assets fund managers and bankers were not impressed. As talks for turning Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders into a movie were nearing completion, with Angelina Jolie possibly being signed to take the lead role, Cornwall oversaw another blunder. Despite Eidos Plc. registering massive losses, this often-absent Chief Executive authorised payments of massive bonuses to his fellow directors. This included his own payout of £800,000. Finally the board could not take it any more and they kicked him out.

Also shown the door at the time was the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Michael James Lewis of South East England. As further indication of how toxic Cornwall was, the company announced that they were planning to recruit Lewis’ replacement from outside the company… the new management appeared very keen to avoid anybody who had possibly been tainted by Cornwall.

Furthermore, our information processing and analysis application has found a gap in Lewis’ currently-available public resume. Now the CEO of Universe Group Plc., his rougher days with Eidos Plc. have been downplayed – Bloomberg Businessweek published:

Mr. Jeremy Michael James Lewis has been the Chief Executive Officer of Universe Group plc since September 23, 2013. Mr. Lewis is a Partner of Canis Capital Management LLP, Catalis Development Services Limited, Catalis SE, Kuju Group SE, Testronic Laboratories SE. He served as the Managing Director of Catalis SE until May 2, 2012 and served as its Member of Management Board since January 2009. Mr. Lewis served as Chief Executive Officer of Catalis SE. He has a career in investment banking and joined Robert Fleming as a Transaction Team Leader in corporate finance. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Eidos plc until 1998. He co-founded Canis Capital in November 2006. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Terraplay Systems AB since 2002. He led Terraplay through the development of its award-winning product to launch and deployment in numerous mobile network operators world-wide. Mr. Lewis had 11 years in investment banking and served as a Director of Robert Fleming in London and Frankfurt. He advised a wide range of clients on acquisitions, disposals, and capital raisings in Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America. He served as Chairman and Member of Advisory Board at Terraplay Systems AB. He served as the Vice Chairman of Terraplay Systems AB. Mr. Lewis serves as a Director of Canis Capital Management LLP, Catalis Development Services Limited, Catalis SE, Kuju Group SE, Testronic Laboratories SE. He has been a Director of Universe Group plc since September 23, 2013. He served as an Executive Director of Catalis SE from March 27, 2009 to May 1, 2012. Mr. Lewis qualified as an accountant at KPMG. He has a B.Sc. in Engineering from Imperial College, London.

His profile on Universe Group’s website is equally misleading:

Jeremy Lewis
Jeremy Lewis is Chief Executive Officer of Universe Group plc.  Jeremy has a BSc in engineering from Imperial College, London and then joined KPMG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.  He spent the next 11 years in investment banking with the focus on M&A and equity capital markets in both the US and Europe.  Jeremy has extensive experience in technology based companies active in areas such as mobile networks, digital media and software for such companies as Eidos, Terraplay Systems and Catalis. 

Collated and analysed together, our system points to a possible attempt to wipe clean Lewis’ bad days at Eidos Plc. Cornwall on the other hand found it very easy in South Africa to wipe his slate clean by simply adopting new dates of birth.

(See The Tuscan Wannabe Moster)

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