Mothercare boss quits

The boss of struggling retailer Mothercare is to step down a week after a dire sales update triggered a 35% slump in the company’s share price.

Chief executive Ben Gordon will leave on November 17 with “mutual consent” after nine years with the group, Mothercare said, amid tumbling sales and a weakening profits outlook.

The mothers-to-be, babies and children’s goods retailer, which has seen its share price slide more than 60% since the start of the year, warned last week that its full-year performance will be disappointing.

Mr Gordon, whose replacement is yet to be found, led the company’s takeover of the Early Learning Centre and its international expansion. Mothercare has 353 stores in the UK, 18 in the Republic of Ireland and another 969 overseas.

Mothercare’s battered shares surged 12% to 215.6p after the announcement.