Revolution Beauty's COO Holt steps up as CEO, Boohoo doubles its stake to 26%+

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 28, 2022

Troubled mass-market retailer Revolution Beauty has promoted its interim chief operating officer Bob Holt to chief executive. The news came as it emerged that Boohoo has more than doubled its stake in the company and now has a 26.4% holding.

Boohoo is the firm’s largest single shareholder and the link-up makes commercial sense. Revolution currently sells through a number of Boohoo-owned websites, including the company’s Debenhams online operation.

E-tail giant Boohoo has repeatedly said it believes in Revolution’s growth potential and said it aims to be a “supportive stakeholder and long-term partner”.

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Meanwhile, new CEO Holt was made responsible for the daily management of the firm last month after previous CEO Adam Minto left, while executive chairman Tom Allsworth also “voluntarily stepped away” from duties last month.
 
The departures came after the UK-based firm called in investigators in September when auditors flagged “serious concerns” amid its transition from a private to a public company. 
 
The AIM-listed company is awaiting results of the independent investigation by Forensic Risk Alliance and Macfarlanes, with the firm promising an update to the market “in due course”.
 
Trading in Revolution Beauty's shares was suspended on 1 September after it missed releasing final results for the year ended 28 February due to those accounting issues that prompted the group's auditor to order a probe in August. Revolution has also been unable to sign off the already-delayed full-year accounts.
 
Holt, meanwhile, has been providing leadership to the business since 14 October and becomes CEO with immediate effect.
 
He said he sees a “huge opportunity” for the company as it hopes to move ahead, adding: “Over the past six weeks I have seen first-hand the quality of people working at Revolution Beauty, the overall popularity of the brand and innovation of products for customers around the world.”

“Bob is an accomplished executive with more than 30 years' experience in senior positions and executive roles across a wide range of sectors”, the board said in a statement. “Having led as CEO and executive chairman a number of UK listed companies… the board believes he is the right person to drive the business forward”.