Coats Group plc appoints Senior Independent Director

10 April 2015

Coats Group plc, the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, has appointed Nicholas Bull as Senior Independent Director with immediate effect. He also joins the Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations Committee.

Nicholas has over 30 years of banking experience. Until 2008 he was Managing Director, Head of UK Global Clients at ABN AMRO, and prior to that was Managing Director, Head of Consumer Sector M&A at Société Générale. He spent over 20 years at Morgan Grenfell (subsequently Deutsche Bank) and has worked in London, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong. He was a Director, then Chairman, of De Vere Group Ltd, the leisure and hospitality business, from 2010 until the completion of its asset disposal programme earlier this year.

Mike Clasper, Chairman, Coats Group plc, said: 'I am delighted that Nicholas has joined the Coats Board. His extensive international banking experience, attained through various senior management and non-executive roles at global financial institutions, will further strengthen and broaden the mix of skills and experience of the Board, particularly in areas such as M&A and further developing our relationship with the UK institutional community.

'The appointment of a Senior Independent Director also represents another important step in putting in place the appropriate governance structures to support a global manufacturing business with FTSE 250 aspirations.'

Nicholas Bull added: 'I am extremely pleased to be joining the board of Coats Group plc so shortly after its return to stock market listed status. I look forward to working with the other Board members, executives and the business to contribute to its future growth.'

Additional background

Nicholas is currently Senior Independent Director of the investment trust, Fidelity China Special Situations plc. Previously he was Chairman of the Advisory Board of City stockbroker, Westhouse Securities and Chairman of Smith's Corporate Advisory Limited. He is a trustee of the Design Museum and the Conran Foundation and also a member of Council of the University of Exeter.

Nicholas has a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Exeter and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Richard Mountain, richard.mountain@FTIconsulting.com, T +44 (0)20 3727 1374
(in New Zealand) Geoff Senescall, senescall@senescallakers.co.nz, T +64 9 309 5659
Kristina Blissett, Communications Manager, kristina.blissett@coats.com T +44 (0)20 8210 5084, M +44 (0)7714 539887

Notes to Editors

About Coats

With a rich heritage dating back to the 1750s, Coats is the world's leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, at home in more than 70 countries, employing over 20,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2013 were US$1.7bn.

Our well-known brands and strong relationships with customers and consumers mean our products and services meet current and future needs. Our company-wide understanding of our business partners and consumers, coupled with the deep expertise of our people, builds trust and certainty.

Coats' pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company continues leading the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; extending the crafts offer into new markets and online; and applying innovative techniques to develop products in new areas such as tracer threads, aramids and fibre optics.

  • One in five garments on the planet is held together using Coats' thread
  • 100 million car airbags are made using Coats' thread every year
  • Coats produces enough yarn to knit 70 million scarves a year
  • In three and a half hours, Coats makes enough thread to go to the moon and back
  • 400 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats' thread
  • One million teabags using Coats' thread are brewed every 10 minutes
  • Thousands of surgical operations take place every day using Coats' thread
  • Thomas Edison used Coats' thread in 1879 to invent the light bulb
  • Coats produces enough thread to reach around the Equator every 11 minutes
  • Coats is the second largest and fastest growing global zip manufacturer
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