// John Colley to rejoin Majestic Wine
// Colley exits Kingfisher for the second time to become chief executive of Majestic
// Colley will return to Majestic under new Fortress ownership
Former Majestic Wine managing director John Colley has resigned from his role as chief trading officer at Kingfisher after just 20 months in the position, in order to return to Majestic.
According to the Times, Colley will return to Majestic Wine under its new ownership, after its stores were bought for £95 million earlier this month by American investment firm Fortress investment Group.
The deal will separate Majestic from its sister brand Naked Wines, which will still be run by founder Rowan Gormley and could now be up for a New York listing.
The wine retailer said at the time of the deal that it will use the net proceeds to cut debt and invest in its Naked Wines business, as well as returning £3.8 million to shareholders through a special dividend.
Majestic made underlying earnings of £11.3 million on sales of £267.6 million from its 200 stores in the year to April.
Colley’s move will be the latest in a series of boardroom hops after he left Kingfisher as commercial director to become chief operating officer of Netherlands-based Maxeda DIY group.
This was followed by a two year stint as managing director at Majestic before becoming chief executive of Hobbycraft for eight weeks.
After that, Colley rejoined Kingfisher as group trading director.
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