Matches CEO and CFO depart amid administration

Matches CEO Nick Beighton and CFO Dave Murray have departed the retailer after its collapse into administration last week, Drapers has reported. 

The news comes as the two senior leaders are thought to have been part of the 273 job cuts announced last Friday (8 March). 

A day before on Thursday (7 March), Frasers Group had appointed Teneo as Matches’ administrator – less than three months after it acquired the business for £52m from Apax Partners. 

Beighton was first appointed CEO of Matches in July 2022 after resigning from a 12-year career at Asos in October 2021. He had been responsible for a turnaround plan, which consisted of sharpening curation and increasing operational efficiency.  

Meanwhile, Murray joined Matches as CFO in September 2022 from Farfetch, where he was senior vice president of finance. 

It is understood that the Matches management team had previously asked to integrate the business into Frasers’ platform and step down as part of its turnaround plan, which was rejected by Frasers. 

According to Frasers, Matches has “consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses. It has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable”.

The departure of Beighton and Murray comes after an exodus of Matches executives, including CCO Carl Tallents and COO Stuart Hill.

Frasers Group was contacted for comment.