Sir Mike Rake will no longer take the wheel as RAC chairman after it abandoned IPO plans

There is a major turnaround at the RAC as City heavyweight and CBI president Sir Mike Rake will no longer take up his position as chairman of the roadside recovery firm, following investment in RAC today from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

 

RAC had announced at the start of September it would appoint Rake as chairman, with Rake expected to spearhead its IPO plans.However with the float no longer going forward for now following the investment from GIC, Rake will not take up the position after all, with Rob Templeman continuing as RAC chairman instead.

 

In addition, the previously announced planned appointments of David Lowden, Peter Plumb and Cilla Snowball to join the RAC board as non-executive directors will also no longer be going ahead.

 

It is believed with GIC now joint majority shareholder in RAC along with private equity firm Carlyle Group, from which GIC bought its stake for an undisclosed sum, that GIC is set to appoint a trio of non-executives of its choosing to the board soon.

 

Float proposals for RAC, which has 8 million roadside members, had been well advanced, but will be not be pursued for the foreseeable future now after the investment from GIC, which also has stakes in Heathrow Airport and Broadgate office and retail complex.

 

Rake had been sought by RAC to drive forward its IPO plans for his wealth of business experience, with current roles including chairman of BT Group and deputy chairman of Barclays, and having previously been chairman of KPMG International between 2002 and 2007.