Blackfriar: Investors seem happy with Bonmarché's choice of boss

Fans become unsettled, and the team can struggle to find a direction.

The corporate world is no different.

When a top class CEO heads to the door, investors can start to feel queasy and the new boss often feels crushed by the weight of expectations.

The members of the board at over 50s fashion chain Bonmarché are confident they have found a safe pair of hands to take the business forward.

They have chosen Helen Connolly as the new chief executive, who is a fashion industry veteran. She is currently senior buying director for George at ASDA, and as Bonmarché noted in its statement yesterday, she “brings significant relevant experience from the value retail sector, with particular expertise in women’s apparel”.

John Coleman, the chairman of Bonmarché, said he was delighted to hire a leader with Ms Connolly’s experience

The market responded positively to the announcement, and Wakefield-based Bonmarché must be hoping that Ms Connolly’s appointment will help the firm to put a difficult period behind it.

The company had a torrid time in December, when shares plunged nearly 30 per cent after it issued a profits warning and announced that its respected chief executive, Beth Butterwick, was stepping down.

Ms Butterwick was credited with transforming Bonmarche from a company in administration to a popular fashion retailer that really understands its market. Three months ago, Ms Butterwick announced that she was stepping down after four years with Bonmarché to join upmarket fashion chain Karen Millen as chief executive.

She led the company’s new business strategy which focused on providing mature women with fashionable clothing that was “age appropriate”.

Under Ms Butterwick, Bonmarché has become a lot less frumpy, catering for women who don’t want to bare too much flesh or try to look younger than their years.

Ms Butterwick has championed clothes that flatter the figure and avoid fashion faux pas such as bare top arms, tight fitting waists and showing too much cleavage or leg.

Ms Connolly’s CV seems to have been tailor-made for her new role.

It’s a sector where deep-rooted market knowledge and industry contacts are vital, and the board, employees and investors at Bonmarché must be hoping that Ms Connolly will get off to a flying start when she joins the business later this year.

You needed to be in a sombre, reflective frame of mind to study the latest raft of documents from the Bank of England.

Britain’s European Union referendum could push up credit costs and weaken sterling, the Bank warned earlier this week

The central bank said the outlook for financial stability had worsened since its last report in November, saying a rebound in Chinese lending was “concerning” and that June 23’s vote on leaving the EU was now the biggest domestic risk.

The Bank’s Governor Mark Carney came under fire from some pro-Brexit supporters earlier this month because they claimed he was overplaying the dangers of leaving the EU, although the central bank does not have an official position on whether Britain should remain inside the EU.

However, there can be little doubt that the campaign to keep Britain in the EU won’t have been displeased with the Bank’s findings.

The Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, which Mr Carney chairs, said on Tuesday that “heightened and prolonged uncertainty... could lead to a further depreciation of sterling and affect the cost... of financing for a broad range of UK borrowers.”

As the referendum date approaches, the Bank can expect to see more of its data placed under the microscope by both sides in this passionate debate.