Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross has resigned as director amid shame over the use of his shares in the company.

Carphone Warehouse co-founder and the firm’s second-largest shareholder David Ross has resigned as a director of the company following criticism over the use of his shares.

Ross, who owns 19.4% of the company, used £136 million of his £177 million shares to secure personal loans without declaring it to anyone else at the firm between 2006 and 2008.

In a statement released today (8 December), the Carphone Warehouse said that none of Ross’s loans are in default and confirmed that he currently has “no current intention to sell any of his shares in the company”.

The announcement read: “On 7 December 2008, the Company received notification from David Ross, a director of the company, that he had, through various agreements between 2006 and 2008 and as part of a package of security comprising other assets of substantial value, pledged £136.4m ordinary shares in the company against personal loans.” 

Following his resignation which is effective immediately, Carphone Warehouse said Ross will focus on his other business interests. In May this year, he was appointed by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to oversee the running of the 2012 Olympics.

He is also a director and chair of travel company National Express and is the biggest single shareholder in storage firm Big Yellow Group, as well as a director at IT IS and Intrinsic Value.

Ross was named the 87th richest man in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2008 and is worth £873m.

For corporate information on the Carphone Warehouse, visit: www.cpwplc.com

By Natasha Piscitelli