Battle to oust Quarto chief Laurence Orbach turns ugly Quarto's directors sent a letter to investors urging them to back its long-standing chairman and chief executive, Laurence Orbach, and rubbishing the abilities of Tim Chadwick, the preferred candidate of activist Harwood Capital, which owns a 19.2pc stake. Tim Chadwick, now 66 years old, was last involved in the publishing industry... 15 years ago, before the internet, Amazon and the digital revolution started to redefine the industry," the directors said. Mr Chadwick said: "It's complete rubbish. Their hatchet job on me is extraordinary. In 1987, just before Aurum was sold, the company had pre-tax losses of £390,000 on revenues of £1.12m. Last month Harwood tabled a resolution to oust Mr Orbach, who, it claimed, has "persisted with a misguided acquisition strategy," delivering "volatile earnings, lacklustre share price and a substantial increase in debt." Mr Orbach, 70, founded Quarto in 1976 and holds 15pc of the business. He plans to hand over as chief executive to Marcus Leaver, a former executive at US book chain Barnes & Noble, when he retires from the day-to-day running of the business. However, Harwood is sceptical, saying he "refuses to relinquish control." Shareholders will vote on the matter at a special meeting on November 7.