// Revolution beauty boss exits as the business unveils results ‘significantly below’ forecasts
// The delayed results follow a probe into the company’s finances which showed sales had been overstated for the purpose of meeting sales targets
Revolution Beauty’s co-founder has stepped down as the embattled online retailer posted results ‘significantly below’ forecasts after an auditing probe found it had inflated sales by £9 million to meet its annual targets.
Tom Allsworth who was found to have made undisclosed loans has resigned with immediate effect from his position as non-executive chairman and been replaced by the senior non-executive director, Derek Zissman.
The board change was announced alongside the company’s results for the year to the end of February 2022, which were severely delayed after auditor BDO flagged ‘serious concerns’ with its accounts.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
The closed probe launched back in September had identified “a number of serious issues” with the running of the business under previous management.
The results show the business overstated profit by around £23m and revenues by £9.6m.
The group, whose shares remain suspended, made an adjusted loss before EBITDA of around £800,000, instead of the £22m profit it forecast before the account irregularities were unveiled.
Revenues rose by 17% to £184.6m driven by the strength of the brand and multi-channel offer, but it was below the £194m previously reported by the group.
Derek Zissman said: “Whilst these results are significantly below that forecast by the previous management team to the market, they nevertheless reflect a robust business.”
“We now expect Revolution Beauty to return to normalised trading and to capitalise on its position as a business with outstanding products, talented colleagues, and a loyal customer base.”
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
