Bra tycoon quits troubled Ultimo for work tsar role
UNDERWEAR tycoon Michelle Mone has stepped down as a board member for Ultimo following her appointment as the Government’s new business tsar.
The Scottish businesswoman has walked away from her ‘beloved’ lingerie firm, saying it was time to allow it to flourish in others’ hands.
She insisted it was her choice to leave, saying she would still act as a freelance consultant for the firm.
But the announcement follows a backlash against her Government appointment amid questions over her suitability for the role.
Last week, ministers announced Mone would travel the country speaking to everyone from ex-convicts to single parents about setting up their own business. She will also lead an inquiry into the barriers disadvantaged people face in setting up their own companies.
Critics questioned the Government’s decision to hire the businesswoman, who has lost two employment tribunals and been embroiled in a tax avoidance scheme.
In a gushing goodbye to the firm on Twitter yesterday, Mone said: ‘To my beloved Ultimo, I gave birth to you in 1999, comforted you whilst you were teething, watched you grow, helped you through your pains and protected you from the bullies.
‘But now I’ve made my decision and it’s time for you to flourish and start your next chapter with the biggest and best intimate apparel manufacturer in the world [MAS Holdings].’ She added: ‘I will always l ove you’ and s i gned off as ‘Mummy’.
The 43-year-old, from Glasgow, is said to be worth £20million but Ultimo has been in trouble since 2011 and, in the 18 months up to October 2012, the company lost nearly £550,000.
For three years up to 2012, Mone’s company made use of a tax avoidance scheme condemned as ‘ morally repugnant’ by Chancellor George Osborne.
Business l eaders i n Scotland criticised her Government appointment.
Douglas Anderson, of plant and tool hire firm Gap Group, wrote to David Cameron, saying: ‘Her businesses have been no more than excessively over-promoted PR minnows gaining unjustified acclaim due to the glamorous sector they happen to be in.’
A spokesman for Mone said: ‘The decision to resign from the boards was Michelle’s. It was taken so she could devote more of her time to her other business enterprises and in particular to her new job producing a report for the Government.’
Ul t i mo said: ‘ Ul t i mo has announced Ms Michelle Mone OBE resigned earlier this month from the boards of both MJM International Limited and Ultimo Brands International Limited.
‘Michelle has new business interests and has recently taken on new r esponsibilities with t he UK Government. As such, Michelle will spend most of her time on these new projects and commitments, l eaving l i mited t i me f or her engagements with Ultimo.’