Robson to leave Thorntons
Struggling retailer Thorntons was delivered another blow this morning as its finance director announced he was stepping down.
Company director Mark Robson said he would leave in March 2012 to take up a position with a private equity-owned company.
The revelation comes just weeks after the company's chair John von Spreckelsen said he would retire from the Alfreton-based company within the next year.
Jonathan Hart, Thorntons' chief executive, said: "Mark has played an important role over the past two years in improving our business and laying the foundations for our long term, transformational strategy. A search for his successor has been initiated."
Robson joined Thorntons just two years ago, taking on the role of finance director in November 2009 and being appointed to the board the month later. Prior to working at Thorntons, he was finance director at supermarket chain Somerfields.
Earlier this year, Thornton's issued a profit warning followed by the announcement it would close 180 of its high-street stores. The company that it was "confident" that replacing some of the closed stores with franchises was the best strategic option.
In its year-end results which were published in September, Thorntons recorded a 1.7 per cent increase in revenues at its year-end to £218.3m.
