Shares in Ted Baker PLC (LON:TED) were a little shabbier on Thursday after its finance chief was poached by handbag maker Mulberry Group PLC (LON:MUL).
Mulberry said that Charles Anderson, who was finance director of Ted Baker’s subsidiaries for six years before leaving, would take up the new role as group finance director from early October.
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Anderson has also held various finance positions at House of Fraser, NatWest Markets and Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR).
"We are delighted to welcome Charles to the Mulberry team. His experience of developing and overseeing a global finance function during a period of international expansion will be relevant as we grow Mulberry worldwide", said Ted Baker’s chief executive Thierry Andretta.
Anderson replaces Neil Ritchie, who stepped down on 30 June.
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In a statement, Ted Baker said: “We wish Charles all the best with his future career. He leaves behind a strong team that will continue to help us further develop Ted as a global lifestyle brand. We are well underway with the appointment of a successor.”
In a note, analysts at Peel Hunt said the outlook for Ted Baker remained “challenging” and that the loss of key personnel such as Anderson at this time was “not helpful, but perhaps indicative of the continued challenges the business will face into 2020”.
In late-morning trading, Ted Baker’s shares were down 3.2% at 929p while Mulberry shares were 0.5% lower at 291p.
--Adds broker comment and updates share prices--