Published
Sep 2, 2020
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New board nominee signals louder voice for Ted Baker founder

Published
Sep 2, 2020

Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin has boosted his influence on the company via the appointment of a representative to the struggling retailer’s board.


Ted baker



The move comes 18 months after the man who led the firm for three decades was forced to step down as its performance faltered and the “forced hugging” scandal and claims of other inappropriate behaviour with staff made his position untenable.

Colin La Fontaine Jackson will be a nominee director on behalf of Kelvin as part of a deal that allows the company to make use of the founder’s expertise as long as he owns at least 10% of the company.

Despite cutting his stake by more than half back in June, Kelvin still has an almost-12% holding, although the value of that stake is well down on its value of five years ago. The firm’s shares have plummeted and its current less-than-£200 million market capitalisation is a tiny fraction of earlier valuations.

Ted Baker said the appointment of La Fontaine Jackson “brings the benefits of access to Mr Kelvin’s unique brand experience and insight, while at the same time introducing clear guidelines that will ensure board independence is maintained and that the interests of shareholders are prioritised and protected”.

The new director’s background includes founding corporate finance house Hopton Advisers and working for Quayle Munro, ING Barings and Charterhouse Securities.

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