Currys shares sink as boss Alex Baldock announces exit after eight years
- Shares in Currys down more than 9% following CEO departure update
Shares in Currys plunged this morning after the retailer announced its chief executive Alex Baldock will step down after eight years.
Baldock joined Currys in 2018 after working for six years as group chief executive of Shop Direct.
The retailer said it would start a formal recruitment process for his successor and Baldock will remain with the retailer during the transition period.
Shares in Currys fell 9.17 per cent or 12.10p to 119.80p on Thursday, having risen 33 per cent in the past year.
Baldock has been outspoken in his criticism of the Government's tax hikes and changes to the Employment Rights Act.
Moving on: Currys has announced that Alex Baldock is to step down as group chief executive after eight years to take a new external position
He told the Sunday Times that the 'so-called guaranteed hours proposal' would 'drive a coach and horses through this delicate balance.
'They’d require employers to guarantee the same number of hours in the coming weeks as in the previous 12 weeks. It would mean retailers either having too many staff on the floor at quiet times, or too few when customers need their help.'
Baldock added: 'Beware of adding burdens and depressing growth at the very worst time. Beware of inadvertently making people poorer while seeking to protect them.'
The boss of Currys has also previously outlined how higher taxes and rising costs – such as the £25billion National Insurance raid and hikes to the minimum wage – have crippled retailers.
Currys' chair Ian Dyson thanked Bladock for an 'exceptional contribution', stating he had transformed the business 'in the face of some difficult headwinds.'
The electricals retailer said trading since its update on 21 January had been in line with expectations of an 11 to 17 per cent increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £180million and £190million.
Net cash for the 12 months to 2 May is forecast to be above Currys' £100million target.
Baldock said his time at the retailer had been 'simply the best of my career,' adding that he would remain 'a loyal Currys customer, advocate and shareholder.'
House broker Panmure Liberum said Baldock was stepping down after leaving Currys 'a significantly stronger business than the one he inherited in 2018', overseeing the exit of Carphone Warehouse, the sale of Greece operations, and the successful transition to a fully omnichannel model.
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