Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG ) has suspended senior executive Kenny MacPherson following accusations of sexual assault by a former colleague.

The chief executive of SONG’s publishing arm Hipgnosis Songs Group faces a lawsuit in Los Angeles brought by Sara Lewis, who accuses MacPherson of sexually assaulting her in 2005 when he was president of music publishing company Chrysalis, according to files obtained by Rolling Stone magazine, who first reported the story. 

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, who is not named as a defendant in the suit, told Citywire that it has ‘a policy of zero-tolerance to harassment or abuse’ and while these allegations are ‘historic’ and ‘relate to a period 15 years before Hipgnosis was founded’ MacPherson was placed on leave of absence ‘as soon as it became aware of the allegations’.

‘Our rigorous procedures for dealing with such matters have commenced,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.

MacPherson, who is Scottish, left Chrysalis to set up Big Deal Music in 2012, which was acquired by Hipgnosis in 2020 and renamed Hipgnosis Songs Group. 

Independent music company BMG, which bought Chrysalis in late 2010, is also named as a defendant, according to Rolling Stone. 

In a statement to the magazine, MacPherson’s attorney said his client vehemently denied all allegations made against him.

The lawsuit comes at a bad time for Hipgnosis as its London-listed fund faces a continuation vote on 26 October with the shares trading at a 48% discount to net asset value.

In an announcement last week, chair Andrew Sutch announced he would step down as the board the board set out a plan to sack fund manager and Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis if a proposal to sell a fifth of its portfolio fails to revive the share price.