Sports Direct chairman quits after just three months
David Richardson resigns as chairman of beleaguered retailer after fall out with executive team
David Richardson, the former finance director of
Whitbread , has
resigned as the chairman of struggling retail group
Sports Direct after
just three months in the job.
Richardson quit because he had been ‘unable to establish a strong working
relationship with the executive team’.
His resignation follows intense irritation with the company from investors
and analysts, who have been frustrated with the relutance of the group’s founder
and chairman Mike Ashley to engage with the City and appoint financial advisers.
The stock has fallen 31.7% to 205p a share since it listed. The company is
now worth £1.47bn compared with £2.2bn when it listed in February.
The departure of Richardson, a
City
veteran, is believed to have come about because he could no longer tolerate
Ashley’s refusal to engage properly with investors and follow City protocol.
Further reading:
Read
an interview with Richardson