Stobart Group Limited Board Update and Establishment of Stobart Capital (8015E)

TIDMSTOB

RNS Number : 8015E

Stobart Group Limited

11 May 2017

11 May 2017

Stobart Group Limited

("Stobart Group", "Stobart" or the "Group")

Board Update and Establishment of Stobart Capital

Stobart Group Limited, the support services and infrastructure group, today provides the following Board update and announces the establishment of Stobart Capital.

Highlights

   --     Warwick Brady to join the Board and be appointed as the Group's CEO following June's AGM 

-- Andrew Tinkler to continue as an Executive Board member, giving the Board continued access to his input at Group level

   --     Establishment of Stobart Capital, a new value creation unit, to be headed by Andrew Tinkler 

-- The creation of Stobart Capital will enable the management teams of the Group's core Energy, Aviation, Rail and Infrastructure operations to focus on driving the value of their existing businesses

-- Stobart Capital will operate independently of the Group and have access to external capital and expertise

Board Update

Andrew Tinkler founded Stobart Group, and has been the CEO since its flotation in 2007. During this time, he has been an entrepreneurial driving force, initially transforming the fortunes of the Eddie Stobart business and then setting the strategy of the Group today, which includes the fast-growing Energy and Aviation businesses. He has also overseen the value improvement and realisation of the Group's property portfolio, delivering consistent returns to shareholders.

It has been Andrew's intention for some time to identify the right management team to take the existing operating businesses to the next level and to allow him to focus on his strengths and seek out new entrepreneurial initiatives.

As part of this process, Andrew identified Warwick Brady as a suitable and highly qualified successor. As such, in December 2016, we announced that Warwick would be joining as Deputy Group CEO, having previously acted as COO of easyJet plc. Warwick's appointment provided the Group with further aviation expertise and broader management capability. Also, earlier in July 2016, we announced that Ben Whawell was to step down from the Board and become the CEO of Stobart's Energy division, providing strong, experienced and dedicated leadership at a very important phase of its development. These appointments meant that the Group has strong leadership in place in key positions, and allowed the Board to further develop plans for succession and long term value creation.

Andrew Tinkler, in coordination with the Board, believes that now is the right time to move to the next stage of the long term plan. As such, Stobart Group is pleased to announce that Warwick will join the Board and be appointed as the Group's CEO following June's AGM.

Andrew will continue as an Executive Board member, giving the Board continued access to his input at Group level. He will also Chair a newly formed independent business, Stobart Capital, which will aim to deliver value creation opportunities, both to the Group, and to other investors.

Richard Butcher, Executive Director and CEO of Stobart Infrastructure, will not offer himself for re-election and will step down from the Board at the AGM. Richard's role has evolved as the number of properties remaining in the Group portfolio has reduced. He will continue to manage the portfolio and implement the Group's realisation strategy in his role as CEO of Stobart Infrastructure.

Mark Adams was appointed as interim CFO in November 2016 and has assisted the Group through the extension of the bank facility, the acquisitions of the airline and Propius, and the sale and leaseback of the Propius aircraft post year end. With these transactions now complete, Mark will step down from his position at 31 May 2017 and we will make a further announcement regarding the leadership of the finance function in due course.

Stobart Capital

Stobart Group has a strong track record of entrepreneurialism, growth and investment. The Group has decided to formally bring this expertise together within a new dedicated value creation unit, to be headed by Andrew Tinkler and supported by Ian Soanes, a long-standing advisor to the Group. This will enable the management teams of the Group's core Energy, Aviation, Rail and Infrastructure operations to focus on driving the value of their existing businesses.

Stobart Capital will operate independently of the Group, with access to external capital and expertise, but working closely with the Group's management team. Investment opportunities will be presented to a new Value Creation Board, a sub-committee of the Stobart Group Board, for evaluation.

Chairman, Iain Ferguson commented:

"The establishment of Stobart Capital will allow us to fully harness our entrepreneurial skills and identify new value creating opportunities. I would like to thank Andrew for his unique and tireless contribution to the Group over the past ten years, and I look forward to working with Andrew and Warwick in their new roles. I would also like to thank Richard for his valued contribution to the Group over many years and Mark for his work as interim CFO over recent months."

Enquiries:

 
 Stobart Group              c/o Redleaf Communications 
 Iain Ferguson, Chairman 
 Redleaf Communications     [phone] 
 Charlie Geller             [e-mail] 
  Elise Palmer 
  Sam Modlin 
 
 Influence Associates       [phone] 
 Stuart Dyble 
  James Andrew 
 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

Notes to Editor:

Stobart is an entrepreneurial support services and infrastructure business deriving income from energy, aviation, civil engineering and investments. The Group has a strong heritage in logistics, systems and a customer focus that continues to support all of our divisions. The Group's strategy is to drive growth and profitability in its core Energy, Aviation and Rail Divisions whilst realising value for shareholders from its Infrastructure and Investments Divisions.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

MSCGSGDUDBBBGRB

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 11, 2017 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)