3 May 2017

Halfords announces Jill McDonald to step down as CEO

Halfords Group plc ("Halfords") announces that Jill McDonald, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has resigned from the business to take up the position of Managing Director: Clothing, Home & Beauty at Marks & Spencer plc.

Jill will remain as CEO of Halfords until the end of her notice period in October 2017 and the Board has commenced the process to appoint her successor.

Results for the 52 weeks ended 31 March 2017 are due to be announced on 25 May 2017 and are expected to be in line with market expectations.

Commenting on behalf of the Board, Dennis Millard said: "We are grateful to Jill for the positive impact she has made across the business.  She will leave Halfords with a strong team and a clear strategy to drive future growth.  The Moving Up A Gear strategy is well underway and is delivering  significant momentum across the organisation.  We all look forward to continuing to work with her over the next few months and she will leave with our best wishes for the future."

Jill said: "Halfords is a great company with a fantastic team of people throughout the business, making my decision to leave all the more difficult. Our customer-centric, service-led strategy has real traction and I look forward to working with the team over the next six months continuing to deliver further progress across the Group."

Enquiries:

Halfords                                                                        

Dennis Millard, Chairman                                                                         +44 (0) 1527 513 276

Jonny Mason, Chief Financial Officer                                                         +44 (0) 1527 513 113

Adam Phillips, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Finance

Teneo Blue Rubicon                                                                  

Ben Foster                                                                                              + 44 (0) 20 3603 5221

Notes to Editors

Summary of Jill McDonald's remuneration arrangements on exit

Following her resignation, subject to her continued employment, Jill will receive her normal salary and associated benefits until her leaving date. 

Jill's long term incentive arrangements in respect of her awards under the PSP and SAYE schemes (as detailed in the annual report) will lapse. 

If any FY17 Annual Bonus is due to be paid, in accordance with scheme rules, Jill will receive no such award as she resigned before the payment date. In addition, Jill will not be entitled to exercise the option to receive shares in Halfords plc at nil cost which were deferred as part of her 2016 Annual Bonus award.

About Halfords Group

Halfords is the UK's leading retailer of motoring, cycling and leisure products and, through Halfords Autocentres, is also one of the UK's leading independent operators in vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs. Customers shop at 460 Halfords stores and 15 Cycle Republic shops in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at halfords.com for pick-up at their local store or direct home delivery. Halfords Autocentres operates from 313 sites nationally and offers motorists high-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices. Customers can also shop at three Tredz stores and a Giant store in South Wales as well as online at tredz.co.uk and wheelies.co.uk for cycling products and direct home delivery.

Halfords employs approximately 11,000 colleagues and sells around 9,000 product lines in store, increasing to around 165,000 Retail products online. The Retail offering encompasses significant ranges in car parts, cycling products, in-car technology, child seats, roof boxes and camping equipment. Halfords' own cycling brands include Apollo, Carrera, Boardman, Pendleton and Wiggins  cycles, augmented by a range of other brands of cycles and accessories, including Kona, Mongoose, Raleigh and Pinarello and, through Tredz, a wide range of premium brands including Giant, Specialized, and Cannondale. In Motoring, the Halfords Essentials and Halfords Advanced ranges are sold alongside brands such as General Electric, Bosch, Garmin, TomTom, Karcher, Thule and Autoglym. Halfords offers more than 30 in-store services including a fitting service called 'wefit' for car parts, child seats, satellite navigation and in-car entertainment systems, and a 'werepair' service for cycles.

www.halfords.com                                    www.cyclerepublic.com                           www.tredz.co.uk

www.halfordsautocentres.com                 www.boardmanbikes.com                       www.wheelies.co.uk

www.halfordscompany.com

Cautionary Statement

This report is based on information from unaudited management accounts and contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, and businesses of Halfords Group plc. These statements and forecasts involve risk, uncertainty and assumptions because they relate to events and depend upon circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as at the date of this announcement.  Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.  Except as required by law, Halfords Group plc has no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to correct any inaccuracies therein.