Friday 12 October 2018 9:12 am | Updated: Tuesday 21 May 2019 4:23 pm

Game Digital appoints former House of Fraser director as new finance chief

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Video game retailer Game Digital today confirmed former House of Fraser finance director Ray Kavanagh as the firm's new chief financial officer (CFO), while the business heads for a strategic turnaround.

He was previously the director of finance at troubled department store chain House of Fraser for eight years, as well as a company board member as commercial and supply chain director.

House of Fraser was bought out of pre-pack administration by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley in September, and has since been struggling to get back off the ground amid legal troubles and a difficult trading environment for the retail industry.

Game posted a fall in revenue in its annual financial results in August, suffering a blow from "continued challenges in the pre-owned business". Revenue for the 12 months to 28 July fell from £782.9m last year to £780m in 2018.

The firm has since been continuing its focus on reducing costs across the UK to offset its mixed sales, utilising measures including renegotiating store leases and a restructuring of its head office and distribution centre teams.

Kavanagh had previously held several interim finance roles at Game since January earlier this year, before moving on to be appointed as CFO.

Game chief executive Martyn Gibbs said Kavanagh will bring "the right expertise to implement strategic and commerical initiatives" at the business.