Frontier Energy has shed light on its bungled recruitment of Mark McGowan as chair, revealing the former premier had signed a letter of appointment but never locked in a start date.
Frontier revealed yesterday that Mr McGowan would not be joining the company as chair, despite announcing his impending appointment to the ASX more than three months earlier.
The former premier has taken up a bevy of advisory positions since leaving the parliament, including positions at BHP, Mineral Resources and APM Human Services International, as well as a job as senior adviser at Joe Hockey’s Bondi Partners.
He was appointed in November to the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations board – despite the limbo playing out around his position at Frontier.
Chief executive Adam Kiley revealed just how close Mr McGowan had come to taking on the chair role in an investor call this morning.
“Mark had obviously provided consent to act as a director, and he’d signed a letter of appointment,” Mr Kiley said.
“He’s obviously a very busy guy, so we kept working with him to firm up a start date.
“Unfortunately due to other work commitments from Mark, we could never quite get that firm start date actually locked in.”
Mr Kiley said a decision had been made to end the arrangement because of the amount of time that had passed since it was announced, and the heavy media attention the saga attracted.
Mr McGowan remains supportive of the project, according to Frontier.
The comments came as Frontier released an updated definitive feasibility study for its Waroona renewable energy project, as it bounces back from the fallout of an energy supply snub which cost it access to a $215 million funding facility.
The renewed DFS highlighted a 7 per cent reduction in the previously forecast cost of the project, down $21 million to $283 million, and a payback period of 6.1 years.
Waroona will comprise battery storage fuelled by solar panels, and Frontier aspires to supply energy to the South West Interconnected System during peak times – subject to approvals.
It will be put before potential financiers, and said it was considering multiple options including a combination of debt financing and equity solutions with the aim of minimising shareholder dilution.
Mr Kiley said if Frontier was to go down the bond route, that the project’s finance would come via the market in Europe, with equipment finance out of China.
“If it’s traditional debt, you’ll have Australian banks involved, but then you’ll get international banks following in at the back of that as well,” he said.
Frontier had $14 million in the bank at the end of September.
Its shares spiked in early trade but were flat at 9am, trading at 13c.
