Princes Group CEO Harrison to step down from UK tuna producer, shares drop

* Giuseppe Mastrolia named interim CEO ​following Simon Harrison's ⁠departure

* Princes Group says trading ​remains in line with expectations

* Canaccord Genuity analyst says market reaction reflects short-term uncertainty (Adds ​analyst ‌comments in paragraph 3 and 4, updates share moves in paragraph ⁠2)

May 19 (Reuters) - Princes Group ⁠CEO Simon Harrison will step ​down on June 30 and be replaced by Chief Commercial Officer Giuseppe Mastrolia on an interim basis, the group said on ​Tuesday, ‌sending its stock sharply lower.

Shares of the grocery supplier fell as much as 12.5% to 323 pence, their lowest since its market debut in October 2025, and are ​down about 32% from their IPO price of 475 ‌pence.

"In our view, the market reaction to the CEO’s departure is likely to reflect short-term ‌uncertainty rather than any change in the company’s underlying fundamentals," Canaccord Genuity analyst Salvatore Verdoliva said.

"We would not expect the transition ​to have a material impact on the performance of the underlying operations," Verdoliva ‌added.

During his five years at the company, including two as CEO, Harrison led the group's expansion into one of Europe's ⁠biggest grocery ⁠suppliers through acquisitions and oversaw its ‌London flotation last year. The Liverpool-based owner of Napolina pasta and tinned tuna brand Princes ​said it ​continues to trade in line with expectations ‌after reporting a 17% rise in first-quarter adjusted core profit last week.

Princes Group