Rowaa Ahmar, the former top lobbyist at Drax, announced that she has reached a settlement with the energy company following her employment tribunal claim. She expressed gratitude toward Louis Bacon, a billionaire founder of Moore Capital Management, for his key support during this difficult period.
Ahmar described Bacon’s assistance as crucial, allowing her to pursue her case against Drax. Reports indicate that Bacon’s support was primarily financial.
Moore Capital had initially revealed a short position in Drax, amounting to 0.58% of the company’s shares in July 2023. They updated their positions in the following months, and as of late July last year, their short position fell below the 0.5% threshold.
Ahmar’s legal battle began when she filed her claim in April 2023. She argued that she was unfairly dismissed from her role as head of public affairs after voicing concerns about how Drax sourced biomass for its power stations.
Moore Capital stated that it closed its short position by July 2024, prior to Bacon’s involvement in supporting Ahmar. After Bacon began assisting her, they placed Drax on a restricted list, halting any financial involvement.
Recently, just over a week after the tribunal hearings started in London and with Drax’s CEO, Will Gardiner, expected to testify, both parties announced they had come to a “mutually agreeable” settlement, which did not include an admission of liability.
In her statement, Ahmar expressed satisfaction with the resolution, thanking Bacon for his steadfast support, particularly for women, which played a significant role in her decision to take action.
A joint statement from Drax and Ahmar affirmed that Ahmar had made protected disclosures, which prompted independent investigations initiated by Drax, along with other employment-related matters she raised.
Her concerns emerged after a BBC Panorama investigation aired in October 2022, alleging that Drax was involved in harmful practices such as logging primary forests in Canada and utilizing high-quality wood for biomass production.
Drax responded to these allegations by stating that the BBC report repeated inaccurate claims, asserting that the majority of their biomass sourcing came from sawmill residues and waste products.
In August 2024, Drax agreed to pay a £25 million fine into a voluntary scheme after the energy regulator Ofgem found inaccuracies in its biomass sourcing data from April 2021 to March 2022. However, Ofgem concluded that there was no evidence to disqualify Drax from receiving renewable obligation subsidies, which require that at least 70% of the biomass used be sustainable.
As one of the largest energy companies in the UK, Drax has received significant subsidies to convert its coal power station to biomass.
Drax welcomed the conclusion of the legal proceedings, highlighting their commitment to being a responsible employer who takes all concerns seriously. Bacon is known for his expertise in global macro trading and has a prominent reputation in the hedge fund industry.