TIDMFRAN
RNS Number : 2027L
Franchise Brands PLC
04 September 2023
4 September 2023
FRANCHISE BRANDS PLC
("Franchise Brands", the "Group" or the "Company")
Board and management update
Franchise Brands plc (AIM: FRAN), an international multi-brand
franchise business, today updates on its plans, as set out in the
Group's interim results in July, for an optimal board and
management structure for the enlarged group, as well as the
appointment of a new CEO for Pirtek Europe.
PLC and Management Board update
Following the acquisition of Filta in March 2022 and Pirtek
Europe in April 2023, the Group has grown significantly with seven
franchise brands in ten countries. As a result, it is now evolving
its board and management structure with the introduction of a
two-tier organisation, whereby the board of the Company (the "PLC
Board") will be streamlined to five directors, and below this, a
separate management board (the "Management Board") will be
created.
The PLC Board will comprise two executive directors - Executive
Chairman, Stephen Hemsley, and CFO, Mark Fryer - and three
non-executive directors - two independent non-executive directors,
Andy Brattesani and newly appointed Peter Kear, further details of
whom are set out below, together with Nigel Wray (who is considered
a non-independent Non-Executive Director). The Group intends to
have three independent Non-Executive Directors and will therefore
appoint an additional independent Non-Executive Director as soon as
practicable.
The Management Board will comprise the divisional Managing
Directors, together with the directors of the key central support
functions. The purpose of the Management Board, which will report
to the PLC Board, will be the day to day operational and financial
management of the business and the delivery of the Group's
strategic plan.
As a result of these changes, Executive Directors Peter Molloy
(Managing Director, B2B Division), Jason Sayers (Managing Director,
Filta International), Tim Harris (Managing Director, B2C Division),
Colin Rees (Chief Information Officer) and Julia Choudhury
(Corporate Development Director) will step down from the PLC Board
as directors and all join the Management Board along with the CEO
of Pirtek Europe.
David Poutney, independent Non-Executive Director, will also be
retiring from the PLC Board as a director and as Chair of the Audit
Committee, but will not be joining the Management Board. David has
played an instrumental role in the Group's growth since IPO, and
the Board would like to thank him for his service.
Andy Brattesani, independent Non-Executive Director, will take
over as Chairman of the Audit Committee when David retires. Andy is
an experienced banking professional with over 30 years' experience.
He was previously Head of Franchise at HSBC and prior to that held
senior management roles at HBOS, RBS and Standard Chartered.
Appointment of Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
The Group is pleased to announce that Peter Kear will join the
PLC Board on 2 October 2023 as Senior Independent Non-Executive
Director and will Chair the Remuneration and AIM Compliance
Committees. Peter is a highly experienced public company director
with substantial experience in business building and management in
the technology sector. He co-founded D4t4 Solutions plc (originally
IS Solutions plc) in 1985 and was responsible for sales and
business development before being appointed CEO in 2016. During his
tenure as CEO, D4t4 Solutions plc achieved substantial growth in
revenue and profits, growing from a market capitalisation of
c.GBP40m to c.GBP160m when he stood down in 2022. Peter has
experience of both the London Stock Exchange's Main Market and
AIM.
Further information on Peter Kear, as required by the AIM Rules
for Companies, is set out at the end of this announcement.
Appointment of full-time Company Secretary
The Group is also pleased to announce that Rob Bellhouse, who
has been an independent Non-Executive Director of the Group since
2016, will be appointed full-time Company Secretary and will
therefore retire from being a Non-Executive Director of the
Company. Rob is a highly experienced Company Secretary with
experience gained through over 30 years in listed companies,
including Lonmin, Greene King, Domino's Pizza (on an interim basis)
and most recently, De La Rue. He was voted ICSA Company Secretary
of the Year in 2014. Rob's experience will be of great benefit in
helping manage the increased complexity of a multi-jurisdictional
business. The Board would like to thank Rob for his service as a
Non-Executive Director and the contribution he has made to the
development of the business.
The board changes set out above will all take effect from 2
October 2023.
New CEO of Pirtek Europe
Following the acquisition of Pirtek Europe, which has doubled
the size of the Group, the strategic focus is on integrating this
business into the Group and promoting operational synergies with a
near-term focus on utilising the Group's shared resources, in
particular technology, marketing and finance. As a result of the
significant opportunities we have to build a much larger business,
the Group has decided to accelerate the process of integrating
Pirtek Europe to encourage more cross-functional and
cross-geographical co-operation. As a result, Alex McNutt, CEO of
Pirtek Europe, believes this is an opportune time to hand over the
execution of this process to the highly experienced members of his
team, together with the Franchise Brands management, and has
therefore decided to resign to pursue other opportunities.
Chris Stuckey, MD of Pirtek UK since 2017, will be appointed as
CEO Pirtek Europe, reporting to Stephen Hemsley, Executive
Chairman. Pirtek UK is the most established business in Pirtek
Europe and, as a result of the strong growth under Chris's
leadership, accounts for half of the division's adjusted EBITDA.
Adam Burrows, currently Sales Director of Pirtek UK, will be
appointed Managing Director of Pirtek UK. Adam has been a key
member of the management team since joining the business in 2018
and has been responsible for delivering substantial growth in sales
and building strong relationships with franchisees and customers.
Chris and Adam will take up their new roles from 2 October 2023 and
Alex will leave the business at the end of October 2023, allowing
for a smooth transition of the roles.
Alex has contributed hugely to the success and growth of Pirtek
Europe in recent years and on behalf of the Group, the board would
like to thank him for his hard work and commitment. He has built a
strong platform for growth and a great team to succeed him, which
we look forward to working with in the future to unlock the
significant opportunities for growth that we see for the business
as part of Franchise Brands.
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman, commented:
"The acquisition of Filta and Pirtek in successive years has
allowed us to build a multi-national franchise business of scale
which is rich with opportunities for further rapid growth. It is
therefore appropriate that our corporate governance structure
develops in line with the expansion of the Group and our ambition
for the future.
"I would like to thank all my colleagues who are stepping down
from the PLC board to the Management Board for the invaluable
contribution they have made since our IPO in 2016, and I look
forward to working with them on the Management Board for many years
to come. I am also grateful to David Poutney, who is retiring from
the business and who has been a source of great advice and wisdom
to me for many years.
"Finally, I would like to thank Alex McNutt. I have known Alex
since 2018 when we first unsuccessfully bid for Pirtek Europe in a
Private Equity auction. We subsequently built a good relationship
based on a mutual understanding of franchising, and I persuaded him
of the value of Franchise Brands as a permanent home for his team
and franchisees. As a result, he became instrumental in
facilitating the exclusive engagement with Pirtek Europe's private
equity owners to complete its acquisition earlier this year. Alex's
decision to handover to the strong management team he has built
within the business for this next integration phase with Franchise
Brands is a testament to his integrity and judgement. I would like
to thank him both personally and, on behalf of the corporate team
and franchisees, for his significant contribution."
Further information on Peter Kear
Pursuant to the AIM Rules for Companies, the following
information on Peter Kear falls to be disclosed:
Peter John Kear is aged 68 and owns 25,000 ordinary shares in
the Company (representing 0.01% of the Company's issued ordinary
share capital).
Peter is currently a director of Pur Sang Consulting Limited and
Pur Sang Developments Limited and within the last five years has
been a director of the following companies:
Cerberus Technologies Limited
Chapter26 Limited
D4t4 Solutions PLC
I S Solutions Ltd
Internet Service Solutions Limited
Internet Site Solutions Limited
Internet Systems Solutions Limited
Magiq Limited
Prickly Cactus Limited
Speed-Trap Holdings Limited
Enquiries:
Franchise Brands plc + 44 (0) 1625 813231
Stephen Hemsley, Executive Chairman
Mark Fryer, Chief Financial Officer
Julia Choudhury, Corporate Development
Director
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser
and Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3328 5656
Jeremy Porter / George Payne (Corporate
Finance)
Amrit Nahal / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales
& Corporate Broking)
Dowgate Capital Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3903 7715
James Serjeant / Russell Cook / Nicholas
Chambers
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7710 7600
Matthew Blawat / Francis North
MHP Group (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 3128 8100
Katie Hunt / Catherine Chapman / Christian
Harte +44 (0) 7884 494112
franchisebrands@mhpgroup.com
About Franchise Brands plc
Franchise Brands is an international, multi-brand franchisor
focused on building market-leading businesses primarily via a
franchise model. The Group has a combined network of approximately
650 franchisees across seven franchise brands in ten countries
covering the UK, North America and Europe.
Franchise Brands' focus is on B2B van-based reactive and planned
services. The Company owns several market-leading brands with long
trading histories, including Pirtek in Europe, Filta, Metro Rod and
Metro Plumb, all of which benefit from the Group's central support
services, particularly technology, marketing, and finance. At the
heart of Franchise Brands' business-building strategy is helping
its franchisees grow their businesses: "If they grow, we grow".
Franchise Brands employs some 715 people across the Group.
For further information, visit www.franchisebrands.co.uk
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END
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September 04, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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