Revolution Beauty founder and CEO exits amid audit investigation

British Cosmetic group Revolution Beauty has announced its founder and CEO is stepping down amid an ongoing audit investigation.

The company said in a statement Thursday that “as a result of the events since IPO and the transition from a private company to a public company, founder and CEO Adam Minto has resigned as a director of the group and stepped down from the business with immediate effect”.

It comes after Revolution Beauty suspended the trading of its ordinary shares at the beginning of September after auditors failed to complete its results on time.

Later that month, the group called in firms Forensic Risk Alliance and Macfarlanes to conduct an independent review after auditors raised “serious concerns” over the group’s FY22 accounts.

Revolution Beauty CEO exits

Following that announcement, Minto, as well as co-founder and chair Tom Allsworth, both stepped away from the day-to-day management in order to “support the independent investigation”.

Since then, experienced executive Bob Holt has been running the day-to-day business as interim CEO. Holt has previously led a number of publicly limited companies, having served as chair at SureServe Group, Totally, and Mears Group.

“The board of Revolution Beauty reiterates that the independent investigation being carried out by Forensic Risk Alliance and Macfarlanes remains ongoing, and no conclusions have been drawn,” the company said.

Founded in 2013, Revolution Beauty has grown quickly in recent years as it benefited from the burgeoning beauty market and consumers’ continued shift to online channels.

In the year to February 28, the group reported a 42 percent increase in revenue to 194 million pounds.

In August, retail giant Boohoo snapped up a 7.1 percent stake in the business.