Peter Cowgill to leave JD Sports after governance review

JD Sports executive chair Peter Cowgill is to leave the retailer immediately after an 18-year tenure during which its value has soared.

The company said the shake-up was a “consequence of an ongoing review of its internal governance and controls”.

Former Lloyds Banking Group finance director Helen Ashton, a non-executive director, will become interim chair, with Kath Smith becoming interim chief executive. A search for a permanent chief executive and chair is continuing.

Ashton said the retailer’s “internal infrastructure, governance and controls have not developed at the same pace” as the expansion of the business.

“As we capitalise on the great opportunities ahead of us, the board is committed to ensuring that we have the highest standards of corporate governance and controls appropriate to a FTSE 100 company to support future growth,” she added.

Cowgill previously ran an accountancy firm that audited JD Sports before joining the business as finance director in 1996. He was made executive chair in 2004.

He has run JD Sports without a chief executive since Barry Bown left the business in 2014, but has always insisted that investors were unconcerned about the concentration of power in his hands.

However Cowgill’s robust personality and no-nonsense approach have generated controversy.

He angered landlords during the coronavirus pandemic by pushing through a prepack administration of Go Outdoors, the clothing and camping retailer, enabling the company to restructure its store leases on better terms.

Remuneration policy at JD Sports has come in for regular criticism, with conventional multi-year incentive plans based on share options eschewed in favour of large ad hoc cash bonuses.

In February, the company postponed the release of its full-year results because of delays in completing the audit.

Cowgill has also repeatedly clashed with the Competition and Markets Authority over its decision to retrospectively block JD’s 2019 takeover of Footasylum, a smaller rival now run by Bown. This year, JD was fined almost £5mn for discussing commercially sensitive information with Footasylum.

However, Cowgill’s strategy of working closely with global brands such as Adidas and Nike to secure the most recent product launches has paid off handsomely. More recently, JD has entered the US market via a series of acquisitions.

It was also a major beneficiary of the pandemic. During lockdowns, consumers switched from formalwear and clothes for going out to the casual athleisurewear in which JD specialises. It has upgraded its own profit forecasts for the most recent financial year several times.

Chris Bird, who did public relations for the group in the early 2000s, told the FT in 2018 that Cowgill was “the most un-accountant-like accountant I know”.

“He can sit and go through all the receipts and book keeping one minute and the next pull off a big takeover. He is a one-off.”

Cowgill did not respond to a request for comment. JD Sports declined to comment further.