Directorate Change

RNS Number : 8857N

Halfords Group PLC

03 October 2012

 



4 October 2012

Halfords Group plc

Appointment Of Chief Executive

Halfords Group plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Davies as Chief Executive with effect from 4 October 2012.

Matt (41) was Chief Executive of Pets At Home for eight years until April 2012, having originally joined as Finance Director in 2001.  Prior to that he was a Finance Director at Caudwell Communications and before then worked at NatWest Markets and NM Rothschild as a Corporate Finance advisor.      

Under Matt's leadership, Pets At Home developed into a market-leading UK retailer offering an outstanding customer experience with a unique range of high quality and innovative products to in-store veterinary care centres. As Chief Executive, Matt built the business from a group of 140 stores into a speciality retailer with over 300 stores. In doing so, Matt employed an effective and successful business model based on promoting a strong culture of work ethic and enjoyment with a focus on colleague development, combined with a determination to provide exceptional customer service.  In January 2012, Pets At Home was voted the 2^nd most desirable Big Company to work for in the UK in a Sunday Times employee-engagement survey.

Pets At Home was acquired in 2004 by Bridgepoint and was subsequently sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) in April 2011 for a reported £955m, delivering significant shareholder value. Matt left Pets at Home in April 2012 having worked for over a year with KKR to secure his succession.

Matt is a non-executive director at Dunelm Group plc. There is no further information to be disclosed on Matt Davies under paragraph 9.6.13 of the UK Listing Authority Listing Rules.

Following Matt's appointment and a short induction period, Dennis Millard will revert to being non-executive Chairman.

Dennis Millard, Chairman, commented:

"The Board is delighted to have recruited such a high-calibre leader as Matt.  He has many years of retail experience, impeccable service credentials and the energy and ability to drive Halfords forward.  His determination to put the customer first resonates well with the aims we have for Halfords. He joins us at an opportune time for the company and will drive the execution of the three-pillared strategy laid out to shareholders earlier this year. We look forward to his significant contribution to the future success of the Group."

Matt Davies, Chief Executive, commented:

"I am very excited to be joining Halfords, a group which has a real opportunity to optimise its offer, performance and value to customers and shareholders. Together with the rest of the Halfords team, I look forward to ensuring Halfords achieves its full potential in the years ahead."

Enquiries

Halfords                                                                                                     [phone]

Dennis Millard, Chairman

Andrew Findlay, Finance Director                                                                                                                   

Craig Marks, Head of Investor Relations                                                                                                   

Maitland                                                                                          [phone]

Neil Bennett                                                                                             

Tom Buchanan                                                                                       

Notes to Editors

www.halfords.com

www.halfordscompany.com

www.halfordsautocentres.com

Halfords Group plc

The Group is the UK's leading retailer of automotive, leisure and cycling products and through Halfords Autocentres also one of the UK's leading independent car servicing and repair operator. Halfords customers shop at more than 460 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at halfords.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from more than 260 sites nationally and offers motorists dealership-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices.

Halfords employs approximately 12,000 staff and sells around 10,000 product lines in stores, increasing to around 16,000 lines online. The product offering encompasses significant ranges in car parts, cycles, in-car technology, child seats, roof boxes, outdoor leisure and camping equipment. Halfords own brands include the in-store Bikehut department, for cycles and cycling accessories, Apollo and Carrera cycles and exclusive UK distribution rights of the premium-ranged Boardman cycles and accessories. In outdoor leisure, we sell a premium range of camping equipment, branded URBAN Escape. Halfords offers customers expert advice and a fitting service called "wefit" for car parts, child seats, satellite navigation and in-car entertainment systems, and a "werepair" service for cycles.

Summary of Matt Davies' Remuneration

Matt's remuneration package includes an annual basic salary of £500,000. His maximum annual bonus entitlement is 150% of salary, prorated to service for 2012/3. One-third of his bonus will be deferred into shares for a period of three years. Matt will be entitled to participate in the Company's Performance Share Plan (PSP), but only from August 2013, when the intention is to make an award of PSP shares, normally up to 150% of salary. The vesting of PSP awards will be subject to stretching performance conditions. As part of a five-year Co-Investment Plan, Matt intends to invest £500,000 in shares in the Company after appointment and will be entitled to receive Matching Shares equivalent to a maximum of 3.5 times his investment. Subject to continued employment these shares may vest up to a third in November 2015, up to two thirds in November 2016 and in full in November 2017, depending on the following Threshold (30% vesting) and Maximum (100% vesting) share price performance of Halfords:

November             Threshold             Maximum

2015                       350p                       400p

2016                       385p                       440p

2017                       425p                       485p

The Company has been advised by Deloitte LLP who have undertaken independent analysis based on an industry-standard methodology which shows that the total expected value of Matt's remuneration package is in line with Halfords' peer group and that of the previous Chief Executive. The Board believes the remuneration package is closely aligned to those of shareholders.

Matt's employment notice period is six months on either side. Full details of Matt Davies' remuneration arrangements will be disclosed in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 29 March 2013.

 

END

 

 

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