JD Sports chief resigns amid review into splitting up job

THE head of JD Sports has quit with immediate effect amid a review into governance at the top of the company, three months after it was fined more than £4m.

Peter Cowgill resigned as executive chairman in the wake of a decision to speed up the process of splitting his job in two. The decision comes three months after JD Sports was fined £4.3m by the mergers regulator relating to the botched takeover of smaller rival Footasylum.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the companies had shared commercially sensitive information and failed to alert the watchdog about two meetings between the firms’ bosses.

Video footage emerged of Mr Cowgill and Footasylum boss Barry Bown meeting in a car park while an investigation into the deal was ongoing.

Pentland Group, which owns 52pc of the £6bn sportswear retailer, said “these are necessary steps” to ensure the long term future of the business.

JD Sports should “embrace the scrutiny and responsibility” that comes with being a FTSE 100 company, it added.

Eleonora Dani, a retail analyst, said she had expected a more gradual process, with Mr Cowgill staying on for two years to oversee the transition and an internal candidate appointed as chief executive.

JD Sports had already been looking for a chief executive as part of efforts to improve its corporate governance following concerns from some shareholders about Mr Cowgill’s dual role. It will now hire a non-executive chairman.

The company was started by John Wardle and David Makin in Bury in 1981 and now has 3,000 shops globally and several brands. It has focused on selling brands such as Nike and Adidas since the early 2000s, which has contributed to its success with young shoppers.

Helen Ashton, chairman of the audit committee, is stepping in as interim chairman. Kath Smith, senior independent director, will become interim chief executive.

Ms Ashton said the board was committed to “the highest standards of corporate governance and controls”.

Pentland Group is run by the billionaire Rubin family, whose wealth partly stems from JD Sports’s fortunes.

A Pentland spokesman said: “As longterm shareholders we recognise now is the right time for the business to fulfil its future ambitions under a new governance structure and new leadership.”

Sources insisted that its largest shareholder did not agitate for change. The shares closed at 115p, down 3pc.