Redrow founder departs amid a market warning
REDROW chairman and founder Steve Morgan is to step down from the housebuilder as it warned over a slowdown in the London property market.
Mr Morgan will retire at the end of March 2019 and chief executive John Tutte will become executive chairman following his departure.
He has been chairman of Redrow, which has its headquarters in Flintshire, for two stints – the first from 1974-2000 and then since 2009.
“The board is very grateful to Steve for his inspired leadership of Redrow since he founded the group in 1974, a period in which the group has changed much and grown substantially,” said Mr Tutte.
“Steve has made a huge contribution to the industry over many years and his leadership since he returned to Redrow in 2009 has been immense. We wish him every happiness for the future.”
His departure comes at a difficult time for the sector and Redrow said in a brief trading update that the London sales market remains “subdued” as “excessively high” stamp duty charges and Brexit uncertainty hit activity.
Redrow saw the value of net private reservations in the 18 weeks to November 3 in line with last year at £588m, but the sales rate per outlet per week over the period was 0.64 compared with 0.67, the reduction “entirely due to the London market”.
On the whole, the FTSE 250 firm said trading is in line with expectations, with better demand in regional businesses.
The average selling price of private reservations was £388,000, up 4.6% from £371,000 for the same period last year.
Redrow’s total order book rose by 11% to £1.2bn.
■ Meanwhile, John Lewis Partnership has announced that chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield is to step down in 2020.
The group, which also owns Waitrose, has begun the search for a successor and a new chairman will be announced in the second half of 2019.
Sir Charlie began his tenure in 2007 and served as the partnership’s fifth chairman in its near 100-year history.
He said: “Although my departure is still a considerable way off, the appointment of my successor is a key responsibility.
“It is for this reason I have decided to lay out the timetable now to enable an open and thorough process to select the next chairman of the partnership.”
The announcement of his departure comes at a sensitive time for the group, with the Partnership in September posting a 99% crash in halfyear profits to £1.2m.
The firm blamed it on “challenging times” and the most promotional market for nearly a decade.
The group reiterated warnings that it continues to expect profits in the full 2018-19 financial year to be “substantially lower”.
This year has been torrid for highstreet retailers, with department stores showing some of the most significant signs of financial distress.
House of Fraser collapsed into administration and Debenhams has issued a string of profit warnings and store closures.
Sir Charlie’s departure also comes just months after a company-wide rebrand that has raised eyebrows among industry observers.
It has seen the John Lewis department store chain and supermarket Waitrose dubbed John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners.
The process for selecting a new chairman will be overseen by the company’s nominations committee, comprising two elected directors, two independent non-executive directors and the chairman.
The committee is chaired by Keith Williams, the deputy chairman, and supported by independent recruitment consultants who will consider internal and external candidates.