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Arcadia has appointed the former chief executive of the hospitality group De Vere, Andrew Coppel, as its new chair.
Coppel will assume the chairmanship of Taveta Investments Limited, Arcadia Group Limited and Top Shop/Top Man Limited.
Arcadia said he is an “experienced executive” having held a variety of cross sector board positions including CEO roles at De Vere Group and Queens Moat Houses.
He is currently chairman of Dolphin Capital Investors, an AIM listed developer of real estate and as a non-executive director of M J Gleeson, the listed housebuilder. Additionally, he is chair of the Trustees of Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.
Coppel will be responsible for each boards’ “effectiveness” and corporate governance as well as supporting the executive team with the delivery of the company’s turnaround strategy. In addition, he will play a “lead role” in communicating with the group’s key stakeholders, including pension trustees, lenders and colleagues.
Ian Grabiner, CEO of Arcadia Group, said: “I am pleased to welcome Andrew to the Group. He has a wealth of relevant experience and I look forward to working with him as we continue to implement our growth strategy.
“Since we completed our restructuring process over the summer, we have been making good progress with our plans, focusing investment on delivering better customer experiences, improving our digital offer and extending our wholesale partnerships. Despite the ongoing headwinds for UK retailers, I am confident this progress will continue.”
Coppel added: “I am delighted to have been appointed as chairman of the three principal Arcadia Group companies. Whilst the Group is not immune to the challenges affecting the UK retail sector, it owns several outstanding high street brands.Following the approval of the CVA, the Group has a stable platform from which to move forward.
“We have 18,000 very capable and loyal employees servicing our brands located in our 2,400 stores, concessions and franchises globally and through our wholesale partners, including Next, Asos, Zalando and Nordstrom in the US.
“Despite the macro factors currently impacting retailing in the UK, I am confident that we can make good progress in the interests of all our stakeholders.”
