Sanctuary says CEO 'isn't going anywhere'

Sanctuary has insisted that its chief executive, Andy Taylor, will continue
to lead the group, despite newspaper reports that it may not succeed in a £100m
rights issue with him at the helm.

A Sanctuary spokesman told The Times yesterday that the group was
seeking a new non-executive chairman but Taylor ‘isn’t going anywhere’.

Sanctuary told the paper it was ‘exploring a number of options’, including a
capital raising, to reduce its massive level of debt. Analysts have predicted
the rights issue could be carried out very soon – possibly before the end of the
year.

However, one analyst expressed surprise in The Times that the
group’s announcement didn’t mention Andy Taylor’s tenure.

‘If this was a private equity-owned business, the chief executive would have
been sacked,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe that anyone will buy the issue with
(Taylor) as chief executive. I’d say the plan lacks credibility.’

In the past year, the group has issued four profit warnings, and admitted in
October that its end-of-year balance sheet will show net liabilities, meaning,
technically, that the business is worth nothing.

Taylor admitted yesterday that the group had expanded too rapidly, but that
it was ‘working very hard to reset the business for future sustainable growth’.

Sanctuary is cutting a quarter of its staff worldwide and selling non-core
assets as part of a significant restructuring effort.