Lovehoney chief executive Sarah Warby has stepped down from her post for “family reasons” after just 12 months in the role, the retailer has confirmed.

A spokesman for the retailer said Warby had stepped down from her role as chief executive of the brand this month “for family reasons” exactly a year after taking on the role. 

“Sarah Warby left Lovehoney in September 2020 for family reasons, having joined Lovehoney in September 2019,” he said. 

Warby joined the sextoy etailer in September 2019 as chief executive, having previously been marketing director for supermarket giant Sainsbury’s between 2012 and 2017 and Heineken UK before that from 2007 until 2011. 

Lovehoney’s spokesman added: “We thank her for all of her hard work and wish her well for the future.”

He wouldn’t comment any further on Warby’s reasons for stepping down from the role, but said that the retailer’s chief commercial officer Debbie Bond is “running things from London HQ”. 

The brand said in May that its financial performance had been “very strong” throughout the pandemic.

Last November, Warby helped spearhead the retailer’s first foray into bricks and mortar, opening a pop-up store in central London to help “educate” customers.

Warby is currently a non-executive director for Moneysupermarket Group and began her career as a brand manager with Unilever.