How chairman of failed Conviviality sat on board of THREE other doomed retailers

INVESTORS in Fevertree may have breathed a sigh of relief when David Adams quit the board of the drinks company on Thursday.

The 63-year-old has a rather ignominious track record – he has been on the board of four firms that have gone bust: Jessops, HMV and JJB sports are three – and he was at Conviviality when it collapsed this week.

The company’s retail arm, which includes the Bargain Booze and Wine Rack chains, was last night set to be sold to food business Bestway for £7m, saving 2,000 jobs. Chairman since 2014, Adams was insisting as recently as last month that it would be around for years to come. He chaired camera chain Jessops until 2012, leaving less than a year before it went into administration.

He had a non-executive role at JJB sports, which went into administration in 2012 with 2,200 job losses, and at HMV, which called in administrators the following year before it was saved by turnaround investor Hilco.

incredibly, he has also held positions at two more ailing retailers – toy train maker Hornby, which issued a profit warning in January, and Debenhams, whose sales have been hammered in the High street slowdown.

He is also on the board at Halfords, and was a former deputy chief executive at House of Fraser, which is in the middle of a takeover wrangle with its Chinese owners. He was also once chairman of Moss Bros.

Fevertree chairman Bill Ronald said: ‘on behalf of the board, i would like to thank David for his considerable contribution to the company since it floated on AiM.’