Ravenscroft: Stephen Lansdown retiring as chairman

Mr Lansdown, who is the co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s biggest independent private client brokerage, became a shareholder of Ravenscroft in December 2012. He was appointed as non-executive director in September 2015 and became chairman in June 2017.

He will remain the investment company’s majority shareholder but has decided to retire from the board, and all related committees, to concentrate on his sporting interests in Bristol and his conservation work in Africa and spend more time with his family.

He will retire with effect from Ravenscroft Holdings Ltd's annual general meeting on 24 June.

‘It’s been a privilege to be on the Ravenscroft board for almost six years and chairman for the past four, during which time assets under administration have increased by more than 200%, our client numbers have more than doubled and we now have five offices across four jurisdictions,’ said Mr Lansdown.

‘We have made some excellent appointments to the board, which will continue to drive the business forward, so that it can continue to deliver return to our shareholders, meet the investment objectives of our clients and contribute significantly to the economies and communities where we operate.

‘Ravenscroft is a company with an exciting future and while I will no longer be on the board, I remain the majority shareholder, which shows my confidence in the whole team.’

Mr Lansdown will be succeeded as non-executive chairman by Dominic Jones, the first Jersey resident to hold the position since Ravenscroft was founded in 2005. Mr Jones has been involved with the Ravenscroft group as a director since 2008 and joined the Ravenscroft Holdings board in 2014.

He is an English and French qualified lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience in financial services. Mr Jones is the CEO of his family business JPRestaurants and has been an executive director since 2010. He has also sat on a number of other boards and charities.

‘It’s an honour to be appointed as chairman of Ravenscroft as we continue to grow the business. It’s almost unrecognisable as the business I joined as non-executive director in 2008 but that is most certainly positive for the board, the team and more importantly our clients and shareholders. I want to thank Stephen for his excellent chairmanship as his experience and insight have been invaluable and I am looking forward to the challenge of building on the foundations we have laid for the next chapter in Ravenscroft’s story.’

Mr Lansdown’s retirement from the board will see Richard Collenette join with immediate effect as a non-independent non-executive director to represent the interests of the Lansdown family office Pula Ltd. Mr Collenette, who is a qualified accountant, joined Pula in 2016 as chief financial officer and was promoted to chief executive officer three years later.

Ravenscroft has also announced the appointment of Mary Theresa Kingston as an independent non-executive director with a specialism in marketing and client communication. Ms Kingston, who lives in Bristol, spent three decades at Hargreaves Lansdown after joining the company as its first fulltime employee. She stood down from her role as marketing director of Hargreaves Lansdown in 2013 and will join the Ravenscroft board with effect from 1 June 2021.

Ravenscroft chief executive officer Jon Ravenscroft said the strength of the board reflected the company’s plans.

‘The appointments over the last couple of years have added experience and expertise, particularly in corporate governance, IT and marketing and I am delighted that Dominic has been appointed as chairman as he understands our business, has seen the changes and truly understands the direction we are going in. I also want to thank Stephen for his wise counsel, confidence and friendship and hope he enjoys having more time for his sporting and conservation passions.’