Boohoo appoints Primark's John Lyttle as CEO

Boohoo said the appointment, which takes effect from 15 March 2019, is a "key constituent" of the group's positioning for its next stage of growth.

Current joint chief executive Mahmud Kamani will become group executive chairman on the same date, with his focus and responsibilities evolving more towards the long-term strategic direction for the group and away from the day-to-day running.

Meanwhile, joint CEO Carol Kane will remain on the board in an executive role and will assume the title of group co-founder and executive director, also from March next year. She will continue to lead the vision for the company's creativity and multi- brand strategy focussed around the positioning of the Boohoo group's brands and overseeing the development of the product proposition.

Non-executive chairman Peter William will step down from his role on 15 March 2019 and Boohoo said it plans to recruit a further independent non-executive director, with a search process beginning imminently.

Kamani and Kane said: "We are thrilled to have secured a candidate of John's calibre as our CEO. We have got to know John over a number of years and are convinced he has the necessary skills to complement what we already have and take the group on to its next stage of growth. Both of us remain totally committed to the business and will ensure a measured and careful handover.

"This is a hugely exciting time for the group as the fast fashion market continues to shift online and more and more customers across the globe are joining as customers of our brands. The group has experienced exceptional growth over the past few years, with turnover increasing 24 fold from £24.5m in 2011 to £579.8m for the year ended 28 February 2018 and we believe John is ideally placed to guide the group through the next stage of its growth; whilst he was COO at Primark, turnover increased from £2.7bn in 2010 to £7.1bn in 2017. Our next priority for Boohoo is to ensure we have world class infrastructure and technology in place and we believe John is the right person to lead that journey."

Lyttle will receive an annual salary of £615,000 and an annual bonus of up to 150% of that. In addition, he could earn up to £50m if he boosts Boohoo's market value by 180% over the next five years.

Shore Capital analyst Greg Lawless said Lyttle is a "very solid" appointment.

"In our view, appointing an external CEO with proven clothing credentials will bring a fresh pair eyes on the operations of this fast growing international clothing brand," he said.

At 1505 BST, the shares were up 3.2% to 175.35p.