Ted Baker founder Ray Kelvin to take leave of absence. Board says it has been made aware of ‘further serious allegations’ that it will be investigating. Ted Baker (TED) founder Ray Kelvin is taking a leave of absence from the fashion company after the board said it had been made aware of “further serious allegations” that it would be investigating. In a statement issued to the stock market just before it closed on Friday afternoon, Ted Baker’s board said the chief operating officer, Lindsay Page, would be taking over as acting chief executive with immediate effect. Earlier this week, Ted Baker’s board said it had appointed the law firm Herbert Smith Freehills to carry out an independent investigation into reports of harassment by Kelvin after about 300 former and current staff signed a petition on campaigning site Organise complaining about behaviour including “forced hugs” and ear kissing. Organise said it had sent about 100 anonymised reports of alleged harassment to the Ted Baker board.
Primark warning sends shivers through high street in festive run-up. Challenging trading conditions hit UK’s third-largest clothing retailer in November. Primark sent a shiver through the high street on Friday as it warned of “challenging” trading conditions, with Brexit jitters threatening the busiest shopping weeks of the year. Sales at the UK’s third-largest clothing retailer, behind Next and the market leader M&S, have been bucking the high street gloom but Primark warned of subdued sales for November as fewer shoppers visited its stores. The independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said the update would “strike fear” into fashion retailers’ hearts because Primark is viewed as one of the sector’s more resilient names. John Bason, the finance director of Primark’s parent Associated British Foods (ABF), cautioned: “This isn’t a call on Christmas – we’ve got three big weekends coming up now before Christmas. But I think it is a call on quite mild weather during November and I think it’s affected footfall.”
Paul Dacre paid almost £2.7m in final year as Daily Mail editor. Mail’s chairman praises outgoing chief for ‘ensuring financial stability of the titles’. Paul Dacre took home almost £2.7m in his last year as editor of the Daily Mail. Dacre, who ended a 26-year stint in that role in the summer but remains with the company as chairman and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, received total remuneration of £2.68m in 2018. He received a salary of £1.45m and £66,000 in taxable benefits. The 70-year old was also awarded a £1.17m payout as part of the parent company Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V) (DMGT) long-term investment plan (LTIP). His total remuneration was up on 2017’s £2.3m. Viscount Rothermere, the chairman of DMGT, said in the company’s annual report the LTIP payout had been approved after Dacre hit two main targets – ensuring the financial stability of the Mail titles and investing in strong brands of digital consumer media, particularly Mail Online. Rothermere, whose total remuneration rose by a third to £2.4m, also paid tribute to Dacre in his chairman’s statement in the company’s annual report for the year to the end of September.
