Former trade minister to join Jack Wills as chairman

Mervyn Davies, known as Lord Davies of Abersoch and former trade

minister, is set to be appointed company chairman at preppy British fashion label, Jack Wills.

Lord Davies new appointment is thought to be officially announced later today by Jack Wills, reported Sky News, who hint that the new appointed may signal that the fashion label is preparing for a future IPO. The move comes not long after Jack Wills named LFW designer Richard Nicoll as its creative director.

Lord Davies currently holds a number of boardroom roles, including vice chairman and partner at Corsair Capital and non-executive chairman of PineBridge.

Jack Wills current board members include former Burberry director, Rose Marie Bravo and Wendy Becker, former Vodaphone executive as its chief executive, which are thought to be significant if the fashion label decided to float in the near future.

Founded in 1999 in Salcombe, Devon, by Peter Willams and Robert Shaw, Jack Wills has become a success story on the highstreet with more than 80 stores around the world and is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.