Conviviality Retail appoints former head of Jessops as chairman

Conviviality Retail has appointed the former head of camera shop chain Jessops as its chairman, six months after the off-licence group floated on Aim.

David Adams, who spent five years at Jessops as executive chairman and then chairman, will become chairman of the group behind Bargain Booze at the end of the month. He is already a non-executive director at the group.

Investors had been told that outgoing chairman Roger Pedder, who spent eight years at the group, would leave soon after the company floated.

Shares in the group rose 4.3 per cent to 181.5p on Monday. Conviviality Retail's shares have had a strong performance since it floated in July, with shares in the group well up from their initial price of 100p.

Conviviality now has about 600 outlets, the bulk of which are Bargain Booze outlets, predominantly in the north.

The Crewe-based company has also attempted to break into the southeast, following the success of other discount chains - such as Poundland - by going after more well-heeled customers and branching out into wine.

As part of this plan. the company bought Wine Rack, a chain of 22 off-licences based in London, for £1.65m in cash.

The group added two non-executive directors to its board to replace Mr Adams, who will become chairman at the end of the month.

Martin Newman, who runs Practicoloy, an ecommerce consultancy, will join the board. Steve Wilson, the group finance director of Headlam Group, the London-listed flooring company, will also join as non-executive director and chair of Conviviality's audit committee.

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