Grafton chairman Michael Roney picked to chair Next

Grafton Group's chairman of six weeks, Michael Roney, has been picked to hold the same role at under-pressure clothes retailer Next from August.

Mr Roney, the former chief executive of UK distribution and outsourcing company Bunzl, took on the top board role at Grafton on January 1st, having been selected last March to succeed the builders merchanting and DIY retailer's long-serving chairman, Michael Chadwick, who had been with the group for more than four decades.

Mr Roney will become non-executive chairman of Next in August, replacing John Barton, who has held the role since 2006.

Profit warning

Shares in Next have fallen by 21 per cent so far this year, following a profit warning from the retailer in early January, after it reported disappointing sales for the crucial Christmas trading period.

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The company cut its central guidance for pre-tax profit for the year to the end of January to £792 million (€929 million) from £805 million previously, while it guided that profit for the current year will fall to between £680 million and £780 million.

Next is a member of the FTSE 100 index. Grafton Group, which moved its listing to the London Stock Exchange in 2013, is a member of the mid-caps FTSE 250 index.