Dunelm Regulatory News (DNLM)

26 June 2015

Dunelm Group plc

Board Changes

Dunelm Group plc ("Dunelm"), the UK's leading homewares retailer, today announces a number of board changes to support its next phase of growth and development.

· John Browett will join the board on 1st July 2015 as Chief Executive Designate, and will become Chief Executive Officer on 1st January 2016, following a six month induction period working with Will Adderley, currently CEO;

· On John's appointment as CEO, Will Adderley will revert to his former position as Deputy Chairman;

· William Reeve will join the board on 1st July 2015 as a non-executive director;

· As previously announced, Andy Harrison, a non-executive director since September 2014, will take over as Chairman on 8th July 2015 following Geoff Cooper's retirement.

John Browett is a world class retail leader, having spent his early career at Tesco PLC, including appointments as Strategy Director, CEO of Tesco.com, and Group Operations Development Director. In 2007 John was appointed CEO at Dixons Retail plc, followed by his leadership role as Senior Vice President Apple Retail and Executive Committee member at Apple Inc, and then CEO at Monsoon. John is a non-executive director of easyJet plc.

William Reeve is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded LOVEFiLM.com, where he served in senior leadership roles including President, MD and COO, until 2008, and has been actively involved with several leading e-commerce businesses including Graze.com, Paddy Power PLC, Secret Escapes and Zoopla in various capacities. William is currently co-CEO of Hubbub.com, an online grocery business.

Dunelm is well advanced in appointing a successor to David Stead, CFO who, as previously announced, will retire later this year. That work will be finalised shortly with the involvement of our incoming Chief Executive Designate.

Following these appointments, the board will comprise a chairman, three executive directors and four non-executive directors, and will retain a strong mix of long-standing and new directors. The board has also made significant progress in appointing a further independent non-executive director and an announcement will be made in due course.

The board has agreed remuneration terms, broadly in line with current arrangements, for new directors. However, in the next few weeks we will be consulting shareholders over proposed changes to performance related pay and seeking approval for a new remuneration policy at our AGM later this year.

Trading continues to be in line with the Board's expectations. A formal trading update covering the fourth quarter of the financial year will be announced, as scheduled, on 9th July 2015.

Geoff Cooper, Chairman, said:

"Dunelm has dealt admirably with the challenges brought by its strong growth, particularly since becoming a public company. It is a hallmark of Dunelm's approach that it has consistently developed, in advance, the capabilities necessary to sustain further progress.

"That approach has equally applied to the composition of the board, with a high priority given to board and management succession. Today's announcement reflects the outcome of the board's work to identify the leadership necessary to support our next phase of growth.

"In April of this year, we announced that Andy Harrison, already a non-executive director, will succeed me as chairman. Andy has been an outstanding CEO of three public companies, including a major global, consumer focused, FTSE 100 Plc and has vast depth and breadth of experience available to guide our management team as Dunelm continues to deliver for shareholders.

"I am delighted to welcome John Browett as our CEO Designate. John brings an exceptional combination of business leadership together with outstanding retail skills across a breadth of sectors, from grocery to electricals and fashion. John also brings proven experience of applying technology in multi channel operations, which will help us accelerate our digital plans. As part of our succession planning work, he was identified as our preferred CEO candidate some time ago and, somewhat unexpectedly, only recently became available. Andy and John have worked together before on the board of easyJet plc, and John has spent considerable time getting to know Dunelm and the board.

"Will Adderley will remain actively involved in the business, allowing us to benefit from the combined skills of two of the best retailers of their generation. Will has, of course, prior experience working as our Deputy Chairman, focussing his management responsibilities and using his unique knowledge of both Dunelm and our sector under the direction of a CEO. In the past this has involved him spearheading work on people development, product development and site evaluation and acquisition.

"I am also delighted that William Reeve has agreed to join our board as a non-executive director. We have long searched for someone who can operate at board level and who has both an entrepreneurial mind-set and deep digital experience. William fits these requirements perfectly.

"The board has approached the challenges of board succession with considerable rigour. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their support to me, and the significant time and effort they have given to the task. I am particularly proud that the Board has evaluated itself against the demands of the future rather than resting on the achievements of the past.

"Finally, I will retire from the board next month after nearly eleven years as Chairman. It has been a great privilege to be associated with such a special company as Dunelm, created by Bill and Jean Adderley - I will miss it a lot. However, the future requires fresh minds, none more so than in the Chairman's seat. I retire confident that the board has the skills, capabilities and culture to pursue Dunelm's continued growth."

Will Adderley, CEO, said:

"I am delighted that John and William have chosen to join Dunelm. We have laid out a clear medium term ambition to grow sales by 50% to £1.5 billion, and to develop the best multi-channel homewares business in the UK. The appointment of John as our next CEO is a major step towards realising this ambition."

John Browett said:

"I am excited about joining Dunelm, a business with a strong track record and excellent growth potential. I look forward to working with its talented and experienced Board and management team to deliver its ambitious growth plans".

Ends

For further information, please contact:

 Additional information:

1. William Reeve was a non-executive Director of Paddy Power PLC between May 2010 and September 2012.

2. Save as disclosed above, there are no disclosures to be made pursuant to LR 9.6.13 in relation to either John Browett or William Reeve.

3. Existing shareholdings of John Browett will be announced on appointment in accordance with regulatory requirements.

4. In accordance with section 430 (2B) of the Companies Act 2006, Dunelm confirms that Geoff Cooper will continue to receive a fee for his role on the board up to and including 7 July 2015 at the rate set out in Dunelm's 2014 Annual Report and Accounts. He will not receive any payment in lieu of notice or for loss of office. As a non-executive chairman, Geoff Cooper was not entitled to participate in the Company's bonus, employee share plans or pension arrangements.