Billionaire Gymshark boss Ben Francis quits firm he co-owns
Ben Francis, the billionaire founder of Gymshark, has quit the sports talent agency he helped to establish.
The Members Agency was set up in 2018, is based in Wolverhampton and also works on sports sponsorship deals.
According to a new filing with Companies House, Francis has stepped down as a director and is no longer listed as a person with significant control over the business.
He had originally been appointed as a director on 1 August, 2018, and held a stake of more than 25 per cent.
The filings with Companies House also show that former Gymshark chairman and AllSaints co-owner Paul Richardson has also stepped down and sold his shares.
Richardson had been a director since July 2018 and also held a stake of more than 25 per cent.
He stepped down as chairman of Solihull-based Gymshark three years ago and is currently executive chairman of fashion brand Hera.
Also stepping down as a director of The Members Agency is Noel Mack, the chief brand officer at Gymshark. He did not hold a stake in the company.
The Members Agency is run by managing director Nathan Rooney, a former professional tennis player, while the firm’s remaining shareholder is former Gymshark CEO Steven Hewitt.
Hewitt was CEO of Gymshark from 2015 to 2021 before becoming chairman until 2022 and then a non-executive director until towards the end of 2023.
According to its website, The Members Agency operates in the elite sports market globally.
It works with the likes of Adidas, Puma, Nike, New Balance, Fifa, Barclays, HSBC, Intel, the Premier League and the ATP Tour.
Its latest financial results are due to be filed with Companies House by the end of this month.
For the year to 31 July, 2023, the firm had net assets of £92,898, down from £193,318.
Ben Francis declined to comment when approached by City PM.
Ben Francis’ Gymshark to reveal results
The latest accounts for Gymshark are also due to be filed with Companies House by the end of April.
In February last year, City PM reported that Gymshark’s profit fell despite its sales surging past £550m.
The business posted pre-tax profits of £13m for the 12 months to July 31, 2023, down from £27.8m.
Gymshark’s profits declined for the second successive year following its first-ever fall during its previous financial year.
However, the company’s EBITDA, excluding exceptional costs, increased from £39.9m to £45.3m.
Gymshark said it focuses more on that measure “due to its proxy for underlying trading performance”.