Boohoo’s under-pressure founder and vice-chairman Mahmud Kamani has gained key support against the call by minority shareholder Frasers Group for his removal at the struggling fashion giant’s upcoming annual general meeting.

Independent proxy adviser Glass Lewis has recommended that boohoo shareholders vote against a resolution which seeks to kick out Kamani as a director at the AGM on 21 January.

Glass Lewis said that it recognises the company “has initiated significant actions” in recent months, including undertaking the Business Review, strengthening its balance sheet, and introducing leadership changes, including appointing a new CEO and independent chair, while Mahmud Kamani from executive chair to executive vice-chair.

It concludes that these changes “should enable the company to retain Mr Kamani’s institutional knowledge and expertise while empowering new leadership to undertake initiatives that will likely be needed to improve the Company’s performance”.

It noted its recommendation “is in line with the unanimous recommendation of the Company’s Independent Committee and the independent proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc”.

That committee has already “unanimously” recommended that shareholders ‘Vote Against’ the Resolution at the General Meeting requisitioned by Frasers in November to remove Kamani as a director of the company.

Boohoo said Frasers’ demands, including its current attempt to remove Kamani as a director, “form part of an ongoing campaign by Frasers which appears designed to destabilise Boohoo and disrupt the board’s plans to unlock and maximise shareholder value through the Business Review that it announced in October”.