THG shares soar 10 per cent as investors cheer the appointment of BAT’s Farr
Shares in THG soared 10 per cent after the beleaguered e-commerce platform drafted in a director of British American Tobacco to help take it private.
Sue Farr, the senior independent director (SID) of BAT sits on the board of a number of FTSE 100 companies including used car dealership Lookers and real estate company Helical.
The advertising and marketing veteran replaces Damian Sanders who was named as THG’s financial officer a few weeks ago.
Reports first published in Sky News suggest that Farr’s appointment as senior independent director is fuelled by chairman Lord Allen motive to reshape its board ahead of a potential takeover by private equity group Apollo Global Management.
Commenting on her appointment, Allen said that Farr had an “impressive executive career” and is an “experienced senior independent director and committee chair.”
“THG is a business I have long admired and I look forward to working with Charles and the rest of the board on this next stage in the group’s journey,” Farr added.
THG and its London listing
It comes as the luxury retailer also revealed an operating loss of £495.6m for the year, driven largely by soaring international delivery costs and a strategic review of its stock.
Moving THG to a private listed company would signal an end to a turbulent two year period for the brand and chief Matthew Moulding.
Just last week, Mouling took to LinkedIn to slam the media, institutional investors, stockbrokers and analysts who he accused of building “negative coverage against UK listed companies, including THG”.
Moulding has continually complained about the scrutiny that comes with listing a business in London, describing the process as having “sucked” from start to finish.