City round-up: new chair at Ultimate Products; Redx Pharma exit plans; N Brown sudden board change; New NED at GB Group

Ultimate Products, the owner of several leading homeware brands, including Salter and Beldray, will have a new non-executive chair at the end of July.

It follows current incumbent, James ‘Jim’ McCarthy’s announcement that he will step down on July 31, 2024.

Christine Adshead, who has been an Independent non-executive director since September 2020, will replace Jim as non-executive chair on that date.

Jim was appointed chair of Ultimate Products in 2017 prior to the group’s IPO and has played an instrumental role in successfully steering the business through its first seven years as a listed company. The group said it has benefited enormously from Jim’s vast experience in the fast moving retail industry, given his previous positions as CEO of Poundland Group, managing director of Sainsbury’s Convenience, and other senior roles in the sector.

Christine is a former Partner at PwC, where she spent nearly 20 years providing transaction advisory services across a range of corporate activities and a variety of sectors, including retail and consumer goods.

She was PwC’s London region private equity leader, as well as being a national leader for mid-tier private equity. Christine was also an elected member of the PwC Supervisory Board, the governance body for PwC in the UK, which represents the interests of more than 900 Partners and is responsible for providing constructive challenge to PwC’s UK executive board. Christine is a non-executive director and board member of Hill Dickinson, an international commercial law firm headquartered in Liverpool.

Jim McCarthy said: “It has been a privilege to be Ultimate Products’ chair over the last seven years, and I have thoroughly enjoyed playing a part in the ongoing success of this superb business.

“Having worked with Christine for over three years now, I know that she will make an excellent chair given her understanding of and support for the group’s culture, strategy and people. She is an immensely experienced and well liked individual, and I am confident that she will help our newly appointed CEO, Andrew Gossage, and the wider team, deliver Ultimate Products’ next stage of growth.”

Christine Adshead said: “I am thrilled to be taking over from Jim, who has done an outstanding job as chair of Ultimate Products since joining the business in 2017.
“Everyone connected with Ultimate Products owes him a huge debt of gratitude for the leadership, counsel and expertise that he has provided to the group during his tenure. I am looking forward to carrying on his excellent work at what is a hugely exciting time for Ultimate Products as it pursues its ambitious growth strategy to become the world’s best branded consumer goods business.”

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RedX Pharma

Redx Pharma, the Alderley Park-based clinical stage biotechnology company, has confirmed the arrangements for its departure from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Earlier this month it announced that it would cease its listing on AIM in a move, it said, designed to make quicker decisions, raise private funds and save costs.

The previous week, two other North West firms, Byotrol and C4X, made similar announcements citing the cost of a stock market listing and the lack of liquidity in their ailing shares.

Today (April 29), Redx confirmed that the last day of trading in its ordinary shares, of 1p each, on AIM will be April 30, and the AIM delisting will become effective at 7:00 am on May 1, 2024.

Details of the matched bargain facility to be provided by J P Jenkins to assist shareholders wishing to trade in ordinary shares following the AIM delisting will be available on the company’s website – www.redxpharma.com. The matched bargain facility will be effective from 7:30 am on May 1.

Following the AIM delisting, SPARK Advisory Partners Limited will cease to act as nominated adviser and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited will cease to act as broker to the company.

Redx is focused on discovering and developing novel, small molecule, targeted therapeutics for the treatment of fibrotic disease and cancer.

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Ron McMillan has suddenly retired as Chair of home shopping group N Brown PLC and is stepping down from the Board of home shopping group N Brown with effect from 30 April 2024, for personal reasons. 

The former PWC partner has been on the N Brown Board for 11 years and the board has appointed Steve Johnson as interim Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer until a new permanent Chair is appointed. 

Steve Johnson said: “Ron has made a significant contribution as Chair and has played a critical role in the transformation of this company. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Ron for his dedication to N Brown.”   

Separately, Vicky Mitchell, an independent non-executive director, is to step down to focus on other professional commitments after the Annual General Meeting in July 2024. 

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Security software provider GB Group has appointed Michelle Senecal de Fonseca as a new Non-Executive Director.

Natalie Gammon is to step down from the GBG Board on 23 July 2024, after the AGM.  She has been a Non-Executive Director since November 2019.

Michelle is an experienced executive and non-executive director in the technology industry, having been Managing Director for Vodafone’s cloud and hosting services business, and serving as Area Vice President for sales and services for Northern Europe at Citrix before becoming its global Vice President for strategic alliances.

Currently Michelle is Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee at AIM listed Redcentric plc and she is also Non-Executive Director at FDM Group (Holdings) plc and Alphawave IP Group plc. In addition, Michelle is the co-founder and board member of the networking group Women in Telecoms and Technology.

Richard Longdon, Chair of GBG, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Natalie for her valued contribution to GBG during her time on the Board and in particular as Chair of the Remuneration and ESG Committees. Her expertise, professionalism and commitment have been greatly appreciated by myself, the wider Board members and the Company.

“I am pleased to welcome Michelle to GBG.  After careful consideration and a thorough process, the Board is confident that Michelle is an excellent choice. She has exceptional experience across a range of sectors with a strong international focus. This, combined with her Remuneration Chair experience, will be a real asset to the Board as it continues to drive forward the Company’s strategy.”