Henry Staunton
Encyclopedia
Henry Staunton is a British
businessman and the former Finance Director of Granada Group and ITV plc
.
Named in The Times
2006 Power 100 survey, and rated as one of the UK's top 50 finance movers and shakers by Accountancy Age
, Staunton is an "experienced finance professional" and "well regarded dealmaker" with a long history of big corporate transactions. While at Granada he helped steer one of the largest mergers in media history - creating a unified ITV - and played a key role in ensuring Granada and its key executives came out on top after the £5.8bn deal to merge Carlton and Granada."
He currently sits on the boards of insurer Legal & General
, The Merchants Trust plc
, Standard Bank
, international fashion retailer New Look
, property investment and development company Capital & Counties Properties
and, as of 1 September 2010, British retailer, WH Smith.
before reading Economics
and Statistics
at Exeter University. In 1970 he joined auditing firm Price Waterhouse: he was admitted as a partner in 1981, later becoming Senior Audit Partner, looking after a number of its major clients including news service Reuters
and textiles and chemicals manufacturer Courtaulds
.
and Carlton
. Previously he served as the Finance Director of Granada Group plc, which he joined in 1993.
Since then Granada / ITV has :
On 21 September 2005 ITV plc announced that Staunton planned to step down as Finance Director - to the surprise of the analyst community. He resigned from the Board of ITV plc on 29 March 2006 announcing that he planned to "broadly retire".
He has also served on the boards of ITN, a British news broadcaster, and BSkyB
- the operator of the UK's largest digital pay television platform.
He was appointed to the board of Legal & General
on 1 May 2004, and sat on the Audit and Nominations Committees until retiring at the 2010 Annual General Meeting.
He is also a non-executive director of Standard Bank
. Staunton was appointed Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and a director on 1 December 2005.
Staunton was appointed a non-executive director of Ladbrokes
on 1 September 2006.
In April 2007 The Times
reported that Vector, the £2.5 billion hotel real estate investment trust (Reit), was about to unveil a "high-powered set of nonexecutive directors" including Staunton.
He was appointed a non-executive director of The Merchants Trust plc (with effect from 1 May 2008) on April 2008.
In 2010, it was announced he was to join the non-executive boards of WH Smith plc and Capital & Counties Properties
.
, Exeter University's business school. He plays Eton Fives
and golf
. His clubs include Walton Heath Golf Club and the RAC
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
businessman and the former Finance Director of Granada Group and ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
.
Named in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
2006 Power 100 survey, and rated as one of the UK's top 50 finance movers and shakers by Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age is a trade magazine for accountants and financial staff in the United Kingdom. After running from 1969 to 2011 with a circulation of over 60,000 in print, it changed with effect from May 2011 to an online-only publication.-History:...
, Staunton is an "experienced finance professional" and "well regarded dealmaker" with a long history of big corporate transactions. While at Granada he helped steer one of the largest mergers in media history - creating a unified ITV - and played a key role in ensuring Granada and its key executives came out on top after the £5.8bn deal to merge Carlton and Granada."
He currently sits on the boards of insurer Legal & General
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,...
, The Merchants Trust plc
Merchants Trust
Merchants Trust is a large British investment trust dedicated to investments in higher yielding FTSE 100 companies. Established in 1889, the company is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Chairman is Simon Fraser.-References:*...
, Standard Bank
Standard Bank
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services groups. It operates in 30 countries around the world, including 17 in Africa.-History:...
, international fashion retailer New Look
New Look (store)
New Look is a British global fashion retailer with a chain of high street shops in Britain, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.-History:...
, property investment and development company Capital & Counties Properties
Capital & Counties Properties
Capital & Counties Properties plc is a United Kingdom-based property investment and development company which is focused on sites in the West and West End of London...
and, as of 1 September 2010, British retailer, WH Smith.
Earlier career
Staunton attended Ipswich SchoolIpswich School
Ipswich School is a co-educational public school for girls and boys aged 3 to 18. Situated in Suffolk, England in the town of Ipswich, it was founded in its current form as The King's School, Ipswich by Thomas Wolsey in 1528....
before reading Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
at Exeter University. In 1970 he joined auditing firm Price Waterhouse: he was admitted as a partner in 1981, later becoming Senior Audit Partner, looking after a number of its major clients including news service Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
and textiles and chemicals manufacturer Courtaulds
Courtaulds
Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals.-Foundation:The Company was founded by George Courtauld and his cousin Peter Taylor in 1794 as a silk, crepe and textile business at Pebmarsh in north Essex trading as George Courtauld & Co...
.
Granada & ITV
Staunton was appointed to the board of ITV plc on 3 December 2003 after the merger of GranadaGranada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
and Carlton
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
. Previously he served as the Finance Director of Granada Group plc, which he joined in 1993.
Since then Granada / ITV has :
- acquired London Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
via a £650m hostile takeover (1994); - acquired motorway catering company Pavilion Leisure (1994);
- acquired Direct Vision Rentals (1994);
- taken over Forte GroupForte GroupForte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada PLC.-History:...
via a £3.8 billion tender offerTender offerTender offer is a corporate finance term denoting a type of takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corporation to tender their stock for sale at a specified price during a specified time, subject to...
(1996); - acquired Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
and Tyne-Tees TVTyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
(1997); - acquired Anglia TV (2000);
- acquired HTVHTVHTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
(2000); - acquired Meridian TVMeridian BroadcastingMeridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
(2000); - merged with Compass GroupCompass GroupCompass Group plc is a global contract foodservice and support services company headquartered near London, United Kingdom. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world and has operations in over 50 countries...
to form Granada Compass plc (2000); - demerged Granada Media (2000);
- acquired Border TV (2001); and
- merged with CarltonCarlton TelevisionCarlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
to form ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
(2003).
On 21 September 2005 ITV plc announced that Staunton planned to step down as Finance Director - to the surprise of the analyst community. He resigned from the Board of ITV plc on 29 March 2006 announcing that he planned to "broadly retire".
Non-Executive career
Staunton's board experience includes non-executive roles as Chairman of Ashtead Group plc, a plant hire company (1997–2004), and as a director of EMAP plc, a consumer magazine and media company. In 2002, Staunton (who had been on the Emap board since 1995) was forced to resign after a government ruling that he could not be on the board of both Granada and Emap.He has also served on the boards of ITN, a British news broadcaster, and BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
- the operator of the UK's largest digital pay television platform.
He was appointed to the board of Legal & General
Legal & General
Legal & General Group Plc , commonly known as Legal & General, is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its products include life insurance, general insurance, pensions and investments. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Egypt, France, Germany,...
on 1 May 2004, and sat on the Audit and Nominations Committees until retiring at the 2010 Annual General Meeting.
He is also a non-executive director of Standard Bank
Standard Bank
The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services groups. It operates in 30 countries around the world, including 17 in Africa.-History:...
. Staunton was appointed Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and a director on 1 December 2005.
Staunton was appointed a non-executive director of Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes
Ladbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
on 1 September 2006.
In April 2007 The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that Vector, the £2.5 billion hotel real estate investment trust (Reit), was about to unveil a "high-powered set of nonexecutive directors" including Staunton.
He was appointed a non-executive director of The Merchants Trust plc (with effect from 1 May 2008) on April 2008.
In 2010, it was announced he was to join the non-executive boards of WH Smith plc and Capital & Counties Properties
Capital & Counties Properties
Capital & Counties Properties plc is a United Kingdom-based property investment and development company which is focused on sites in the West and West End of London...
.
Other interests
Outside of his business life, Staunton sits on the advisory board of XfiXfi Centre for Finance and Investment
The Xfi Centre for Finance and Investment is a research and teaching institute at the University of Exeter. It is a leading research institute, under director Professor Ian Tonks....
, Exeter University's business school. He plays Eton Fives
Eton Fives
Eton Fives, one derivative of the British game of Fives, is a hand-ball game, similar to Rugby Fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any variety of wall or ledge combinations as long as the ball...
and golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. His clubs include Walton Heath Golf Club and the RAC
RAC
-Companies:* Rent-A-Center, an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company* Royal Automobile Club, a private club in Pall Mall, London* RAC plc, a breakdown company in the United Kingdom...
.