Ted Baker makes David Wolffe permanent CFO

Ted Baker has appointed David Wolffe as chief financial officer, the job he has held on an interim basis since the start of 2020.

Wolffe will join the clothing brand's board immediately after taking part in initiatives to shore up the troubled group's finances since his arrival on 2 January. He replaces Rachel Osborne, who has switched from the CFO job to become Ted Baker's chief executive.

Wolffe has more than 20 years' experience in finance jobs including group CFO at HMV, finance director at ITV Studios and CFO at AOL Europe. Since 2018 he has been interim CFO at a series of private equity-backed retail and technology businesses, including GeniusSports where he worked before Ted Baker.

Ted Baker said Wolffe had played a major part in financial decisions since he joined including the sale and leaseback of the company's London headquarters, known as the ugly brown building. He joined after Osborne was made interim CEO in December. Osborne got the permanent top job in March.

Osborne said: "We are delighted to welcome David on board on a permanent basis, following a thorough process, in addition to the capability we have seen him display in recent months.

"David has quickly gripped the issues inside the business and developed solutions to put things right. I look forward to his continued significant contribution to the leadership team, as we work together to return Ted Baker to profitable growth".

The company descended into turmoil after founder Ray Kelvin was forced to quit in early 2019 over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards employees. After Kelvin's departure Ted Baker issued a series of profit warnings that exposed a £58m accounting error. Chairman David Bernstein and former CEO Lindsay Page, a longtime associate of Kelvin, quit in December.

The Covid-19 crisis has placed extra financial pressure on retailers such as Ted Baker by closing stores and triggering a deep recession. Wolffe's appointment completes the revamp of Ted Baker's top team after it announced the appointment of former Next chairman John Barton as its next chairman in April. Barton, who chairs easyJet, is due to start at Ted Baker in July.

Ted Baker shares rose 5.7% to 125.60p at 10:34 BST.