Former Shop Direct chief executive Mark Newton-Jones is to bolster the Boohoo board ahead of its float.

Newton-Jones is understood to be taking on a non-executive director role at Boohoo, joining former Asos non-executive Peter Williams, who is set to become chairman of the fashion etailer when it floats.

Newton-Jones brings a wealth of ecommerce experience to Boohoo. He stood down from Very and Littlewoods parent Shop Direct last year after more than eight years at the helm. He was credited with transforming the business from a legacy catalogue retailer to an online business. He was previously in charge of Next’s Directory business.

Boohoo is expected to unveil is £500m IPO plans on Friday. The Manchester-based fashion etailer, which is run by Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, is hoping to emulate the success of larger rival Asos.

Boohoo’s sales more than doubled to £67.3m last year with pre-tax profits hitting £3.2m. It is being advised by Zeus Capital.