Theo Fennell has returned to the board of his eponymous business and taken a larger share in the celebrity jeweller as part of a shake up of the board.
Fennell has returned as creative director and will work alongside chief executive Barbara Snoad, who herself returned to the business in May.
Together they will be charged with rebuilding the business and planning for growth after an attempt at ambitious expansion backfired.
Fennell has increased his stake in the business from 15.3 per cent to 19.3 per cent.
Former chairman Richard Northcott and non-executive director Viscount Cowdray have resigned from the board. Both have sold part of their shareholdings in the business at 20p a share and now have 16.4 per cent and 12 per cent of the business respectively.
Rupert Hambro has been appointed non-executive chairman and Alasdair Hadden-Paton has been appointed deputy chairman. Hambro has acquired a 6.6 per cent stake in the retailer, while Hadden-Paton has snapped up a 4 per cent holding.
Fennell, Hambro and Hadden-Paton now control 29.9 per cent of the equity.
Seymour Pierce analyst Freddie George said: “The new management team…will concentrate on rebuilding the business after an ill judged expansionary phase in the last eighteen months and refocus on its core strength in high end jewellery.
“We continue to believe the company has a strong brand which has the potential to be exploited internationally when the markets start to recover.”
George added that he was expecting the company to report a pre-tax loss of £2m before exceptionals in the year to March 2009 and a pre-tax profit of £100k the following year.
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