Interim FD Lawrence Coppock to lead JJB CVA effort

A former group finance director of B&Q and MFI with deep turnaround and private equity experience has joined JJB Sports to lead the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) its shareholders approved in March.

Lawrence Coppock started work at JJB Sports in May and will take over as full-time FD when executive director Peter Williams steps down on 31 May. Williams has been caretaking finance there since the departure of the previous FD, David Madeley, in March.

One of his priorities in JJB’s financial restructuring is to see through the CVA, which, by way of allowing the group to settle rental debts by the month rather than the quarter for one year, temporarily saves it from the threat of insolvency.

Coppock joins from privately-owned printing group Wyndeham Press following the sale of the business in April to investment company Walstead. He led its restructuring and refinancing following the collapse of major shareholder, Landsbanki.

Before Wyndeham, Coppock was regional managing director and interim FD for the global services division of FTSE-250 engineering business Weir, whose group FD is profiled in this issue of Financial Director. He has served as a group FD seven times, ­ six of which were for listed businesses.

Notable appointments include group FD at BAA/McArthurGlen in 2001 while the airports operator was in the process of offloading its stake in the retail property joint venture. He was also interim FD at MFI in 2000 before Martin Clifford-King was appointed, and was group FD at B&Q in 1998.

He has worked on private equity acquisitions, including those of Maplin Electronics by Montagu and shoe retailer Stead & Simpson by Apax.