Former Tesco director Colin Holmes replaces Lovering as Go Outdoors chairman

Holmes, former fresh foods commercial director at Tesco, has been appointed as private equity firm 3i invests £28m to secures a significant minority stake in the retailer.

Prior to his role in fresh foods, Holmes led the expansion of Tesco’s superstores and convenience business.

3i said it is backing the management team, which plans to grow the retailer to 70 outlets over the next four years. 3i partner David Whileman and director Justin Maltz join the board of the outdoor retailer.

It emerged today that Lovering had quit after just eight months in the role.

Maltz said: “We have built a great partnership with management, to help them fulfill the company’s potential as a supportive minority investor and are already working on a number of key projects together to deliver this. The founders have done a fantastic job in building the business and we think Colin’s experience will support the next step up in scale perfectly.”

Go Outdoors president Paul Caplan and chief executive John Graham said in a joint statement: “We are very excited by the capital injection and the partnership with 3i. We can now extend our presence in the UK market through new store openings and further growth within our existing stores. 3i is an experienced and capable partner who will make a significant contribution towards us in achieving our goals for the business.”