From Staff Reports

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Summer Road LLC, a family office and investment firm led by David Sackler, is scratching tooth and nail for a seat on the board of directors of Black Mountain-based Ingles Markets.

The firm is claiming that it seeks to address what it describes as poor management, lack of transparency and underperformance regarding the grocery chain’s extensive real estate holdings.

As of March 2026, Summer Road, which owns approximately 3 percent of Ingles, is pushing to elect its chief investment officer, Rory Held, to the board during Ingles’ annual meeting on April 30, which will be held virtually, beginning at 10 a.m.

In citing what it termed underperforming real estate strategy, Summer Road is alleging that Ingles has “allocated significant resources to acquiring land and buildings – often former competitor sites – that appear to sit idle or earn no meaningful economic return for shareholders.”

Summer Road also is contending that it believes this strategy is a “mandate” of Chairman Robert “Bobby” Ingle II, designed to accumulate property rather than generate profit.

As for what the it termed Ingles’poor financial returns, the firm is alleging that over the 10-year period from 2016 to 2025, the company spent $1.5 billion on capital expenditures, but produced only a 0.2 percent return on invested capital.

In alleging a lack of transparency and engagement, Summer Road is claiming to have attempted to engage constructively with the Ingles board for years, only to be “rebuffed.”

The firm is alleging that management has refused to speak with significant shareholders or answer basic inquiries.

In citing what it termed an “untenable” status quo, the firm is contending that the current Ingles management team is not maximizing shareholder value — and that an independent voice is necessary to force change. 

Meanwhile, Ingles has opposed the bid, with Chief Financial Officer Pat Jackson arguing that adding a representative from the Sackler family office could “detrimentally impact Western North Carolina communities” due to the family’s association with the opioid epidemic. 

“The company (Ingles) has maintained that its strategy is designed to “drive long-term value creation” and has defended its real estate purchases, noting that some sites (such as a formerly vacant Kmart) are slated for development,” AI Overview noted on March 28.

“The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, has largely denied personal liability or wrongdoing regarding the opioid crisis, instead focusing on legal defenses and expressing limited ‘regret’ rather than direct apologies for their role.

“Despite acknowledging that OxyContin became part of the national crisis, family members have testified that they acted legally and ethically, often blaming the crisis on individuals who misused the drug.”

Following is a summary of the background of the “players:”

• Summer Road LLC is an investment firm linked to David Sackler, who is part of the family that owned Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

• Ingles Markets is a regional grocer with roughly 200 stores, known for owning a significant portion of its real estate (more than 400 acres in Buncombe County alone), which is considered to have high hidden value.