Karen Millen hires BDO partner as chief financial officer

Ware, who was senior corporate finance partner at accountancy firm BDO, has a longstanding relationship with Aurora Fashions, the former parent company of Karen Millen, and has provided the retail group with advice through various acquisitions and restricting, including the demerger of Karen Millen in 2011.

Ware’s appointment comes as Karen Millen chief executive Mike Shearwood is understood to be plotting a management buyout of the premium retailer.

Shearwood said: “We are delighted to have Andrew joining us at Karen Millen and know his experience in the broader financial sector will prove very beneficial to the brand on a global scale.”

Last month Aurora revealed it is breaking up its brands into two stand-alone companies, Coast and Fresh Channel, which is the newly created parent of the Oasis and Warehouse brands.

Ware’s predecessor Sanam Soufipour has been drafted in to manage Oasis and Warehouse’s transition into Fresh Channel and becomes chief financial officer of the brands. She helped manage the earlier spin-off of Karen Millen.

The Aurora break-up, which is designed to gear the brands up for omnichannel growth,  will take around 12 to 18 months, after this period its top team including Shearwood, chairman Derek Lovelock and chief financial officer Richard Glanville are set to depart the business.