Ultimate Products’ Simon Harrison Joins as CEO-Designate Ahead of October Handoff

Simon Harrison is scheduled to begin his CEO-designate role at Ultimate Products on Saturday, starting the planned handover that will see him replace Andrew Gossage as chief executive on October 26. The Oldham-based homewares group set the September 5 start date when it announced Harrison’s appointment in May, giving the incoming chief several weeks inside the business before the formal change at the top.

The company had disclosed both dates in advance, so Saturday marks the effective start of the transition rather than a new appointment decision. Harrison arrives after leaving Princes Group in July, while Gossage remains CEO until October and is expected to stay connected to Ultimate Products after a short sabbatical.

A planned handoff after an external CEO search

Ultimate Products said Harrison would join as CEO-designate on September 5 and assume the chief executive role on October 26. The appointment followed a search process and brings in an executive with more than 25 years of experience across fast-moving consumer goods, including brand and trade marketing, sales and operations.

Harrison joined Princes as chief commercial officer in July 2021, then moved to deputy managing director and later CEO. Before Princes, he spent nearly two decades at Coca-Cola European Partners, where his senior roles included vice president for commercial development and marketing director. Ultimate Products’ May regulatory announcement said his tenure at Princes included a change of ownership and the company’s subsequent London Stock Exchange listing.

The succession also changes the shape of a leadership team that has deep ties to Ultimate Products’ history. Gossage, who has held executive roles at the group for more than 20 years, will step down as CEO on October 26 and is due to return as a non-executive director on May 1, 2027, after a short break. Founder Simon Showman, who led the company until 2024, moved to a non-executive director role in June while continuing as president and founder.

That gives Harrison a different entry point from the founder-led leadership that built the business. Showman described Harrison as Ultimate Products’ first external CEO when the appointment was announced, while Chair Christine Adshead cited his operating discipline and commercial experience as reasons for selecting him.

Owned brands are growing as total revenue falls

Harrison is joining as Ultimate Products tries to get more growth from its own brands while cutting back lower-priority sales. In an August pre-close trading update, the group reported unaudited FY26 revenue of £144.9 million for the year ended July 31, down 3.5% from £150.1 million a year earlier. The company attributed the decline to subdued consumer demand for general merchandise and a planned reduction in non-core third-party clearance activity.

The mix was stronger inside the portfolio Ultimate Products considers strategically important. Sales of proprietary brands rose 5.3% to £128.4 million, led by the group’s continued focus on names including Salter and Beldray, while licensed-brand sales fell to £11.0 million and third-party clearance and white-label sales dropped to £5.5 million. Second-half revenue was down just 0.3% year over year, an improvement from the 5.8% decline reported for the first half.

Profitability still reflected the tougher backdrop. Unaudited adjusted EBITDA was £10.0 million, gross margin fell to 22.6% from 23.2%, and operating costs were £22.8 million, including £760,000 of restructuring costs tied to changes in the commercial function. Net bank debt fell to £8.6 million from £14.1 million, leaving net bank debt at 0.9 times adjusted EBITDA, slightly below the group’s stated 1.0-times policy level.

Management has not signaled a quick return to stronger overall growth. The board said in August that subdued consumer demand and geopolitical uncertainty were likely to persist and that, although the financial year was still at an early stage, it expected FY27 trading to be similar to FY26. That outlook means Harrison’s first months as CEO are set to coincide with a period when the group is trying to convert better performance in proprietary brands into a stronger overall result.

A commercial overhaul is already under way

Ultimate Products has been reshaping its commercial approach before Harrison’s arrival. Chief Financial Officer Chris Dent said the group’s main focus during FY26 was the transformation of the commercial function to support proprietary-brand growth, and the company has also been testing more consumer-facing marketing. Beldray launched its first television advertising campaign in July, initially in Yorkshire, with the company saying the trial was designed to measure sales, brand awareness and return on investment before any wider rollout.

Harrison’s background makes that commercial work a central part of the succession story. His career has been concentrated in branded consumer goods and route-to-market roles, while Ultimate Products sells products through more than 300 retailers across more than 30 countries and is trying to deepen the value of brands it owns rather than rely as heavily on clearance and white-label business.

His former employer has already completed its own leadership change. Princes said Harrison departed on July 1 after five years with the business, including the final two as CEO, and named Giuseppe Mastrolia interim chief executive. That left Harrison free of his former operating role well before the September start date disclosed by Ultimate Products.

The handover at Ultimate Products is due to culminate on October 26, when Harrison becomes CEO and Gossage leaves the executive role. Gossage’s planned return to the board in May 2027, together with Showman’s continuing non-executive position, means the incoming chief will take day-to-day control while two figures closely associated with the group’s development remain involved at board level.