Halfords Regulatory News (HFD)

13 September 2017

Halfords Group plc

Appointment of Chief Executive Officer

Halfords Group plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Graham Stapleton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 15 January 2018.

Graham is currently CEO of Dixons Carphone plc's software business, Honeybee. Prior to that, Graham was CEO of Dixons Carphone's Connected World Services Division from 2015-2017 and CEO of Carphone Warehouse UK & Ireland from 2013-2015.

Until April 2017, Graham was a member of the Dixons Carphone plc main board having played a major role in 2015 in the merger and integration of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse. Prior to the merger, Graham held senior UK and European Commercial and Operational roles with Carphone Warehouse including that of Managing Director of its In-Car Solutions division when he joined Carphone Warehouse in 2005.

Graham's earlier career encompassed senior leadership roles in Kingfisher plc from 2001-2005 and Marks & Spencer plc from 1994-2001, prior to which he set up and ran his own Car Detailing and Refurbishment business for several years.

We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Jonny Mason as Interim CEO, in addition to his existing role as Chief Financial Officer, with effect from 22 September 2017. Jill McDonald, the current CEO, will leave the Company at the end of September having resigned on 3 May 2017 to take up a position at Marks & Spencer plc.

Dennis Millard, Chairman, commented:

"Graham is an outstanding business leader with the retail, digital, services and category credentials that are an ideal fit for his role as CEO of Halfords. We set out our "Moving up a Gear" strategy just under 2 years ago and Graham will continue to drive its implementation and pursue our service-led, growth strategy. We are delighted to have recruited Graham who will be able to build on what we've achieved over the last few years and we all look forward to working with him."

Graham Stapleton commented:

"Halfords is a business with a 125 year heritage and a market leading brand that strongly resonates with me and the UK public and I am delighted to be joining the company. I really look forward to working with my new colleagues to continue to implement the service-led strategy and, over time, identify further growth potential."

Graham is a Trustee of the Make a Wish charity. There is no further information to be disclosed on Graham Stapleton under paragraph 9.6.13 of the UK Listing Authority Listing Rules.

Enquiries

Summary of Graham Stapleton's remuneration

Graham's remuneration package includes an annual basic salary of £535,000 and a pension contribution of 15% of basic salary. Any maximum annual bonus potential is 150% of salary, prorated to service for 2017/18. One-third of his annual bonus will be deferred into Halfords shares for a period of three years.

Graham will be invited to participate in the Company's 2017/18 Performance Share Plan (PSP) when the intention is to make an award of PSP shares, on joining, of 200% of salary. The vesting of PSP awards would take place in 2020-2022, subject to the performance conditions as set out in the Company's 2017 Annual Report being met. In addition, he will be granted an award of 185,872 shares in Halfords Group plc on 15 September 2020, subject to him not having resigned before then. These share-based awards are in lieu of similar awards made to Graham by Dixons Carphone plc in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Halfords will also compensate Graham for the balance of an existing, after tax, cash entitlement of £368,677 under the 2013 Carphone Warehouse scheme that has already vested, but was subject to his retention; however, any such cash compensation paid by Halfords will be subject to a clawback in full should he resign before July 2021. In addition, a contribution, when determined, will be made towards his annual bonus, if due, for the period up to his date of leaving Dixons Carphone.

Graham's employment notice period is six months on either side and his other benefits, which are consistent with his role, include the reimbursement of certain, capped costs should he re-locate within 2 years of joining.

Variation in Jonny Mason's remuneration

For the period during which Jonny Mason is Interim CEO, his annual base salary will be increased from the current level of £357,500 to £500,000, to which bonus and pension will be applied for that period.

The above remuneration arrangements for both are compliant with the Group's Remuneration Policy that was approved by shareholders in July 2017. Full details of Graham and Jonny's remuneration arrangements will be disclosed in the Annual Report and Accounts for the 52 weeks ending 30 March 2018.

Notes to Editors

Halfords is the UK's leading retailer of motoring, cycling and leisure products and, through Halfords Autocentres, is also one of the UK's leading independent operators in vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs. Customers shop at 460 Halfords stores and 17 Cycle Republic shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at halfords.com or cyclerepublic.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from 315 sites nationally and offers motorists high-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices. Customers can also shop at three Tredz stores and a Giant store in South Wales as well as online at tredz.co.uk and wheelies.co.uk for cycling products and direct home delivery.

Halfords employs approximately 10,000 colleagues and sells around 9,000 product lines in its Retail stores, increasing to around 165,000 Retail products online. The Retail offering encompasses significant ranges in car parts, cycling products, in-car technology, child seats, roof boxes and camping equipment. Halfords' key own cycling brands in-stores include Apollo, Carrera, Boardman, Pendleton and Wiggins, augmented by a range of other brands of cycles and accessories, including Voodoo and Raleigh and, through Tredz, a wide range of premium brands including Giant, Specialized, Cannondale, Cube and Scott. In Motoring, the Halfords Essentials and Halfords Advanced ranges are sold alongside brands such as General Electric, Bosch, Garmin, TomTom, Karcher, Thule and Autoglym. Halfords offers more than 30 in-store services including a fitting service called 'wefit' for car parts, child seats, satellite navigation and in-car entertainment systems, and a 'werepair' service for cycles.