RAC appoints new chairman
CBI president Sir Michael Rake was appointed as new RAC chairman on Monday, as the roadside breakdown and recovery firm considers plans to go ahead with a potential float this month.
Rake, who previously occupied the role of chairman of KPMG International and of Easyjet, is currently serving as deputy chairman of Barclays as well as chairman of telecommunication giant BT and will replace current chairman Rob Templeman, who will take on a non-executive role.
"RAC has a powerful brand and an exciting future," the new group chairman said.
"It is trusted by over eight million members and the significant investment that has gone into the business over the past three years positions RAC for continuing growth."
Chris Woodhouse, the group chief executive, said RAC would benefit from its new chairman's financial expertise.
"Mike brings a new and fresh perspective to RAC as well as significant business acumen," said Woodhouse.
"He adds unparalleled board experience as we enter an exciting stage of our corporate development and move into the next stage of our growth."
The firm, which has been the hands of private equity firm Carlyle Group since 2011, is thought to be considering an initial public offering (IPO) later in September, with Bank of America believed to have been chosen as an adviser.
A host of others financial institutions, including Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Barclays and Lazard are expected to play a role in RAC's proposed floatation.
RAC, which has been operating since 1897, is also considering the opportunity of including a retail offering if the float was to be given the green light and analysts believe Hargreaves Lansdown could be asked to manage any retail offering.
AA, RAC's main competitor, was valued at £1.4bn at its IPO in June and some market reports said RAC could be valued at about £2bn.
The group has 8.2m members and last year it reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £145m and revenues of £485m, an 11% and 6% increase, respectively.
DC