Smiths News announces Richard Clay as new finance chief

(Sharecast News) - Smiths News announced the appointment of Richard Clay as its next chief financial officer on Thursday, with his start date expected no later than 30 January 2026. He would also join the board as a director upon appointment, succeeding Paul Baker, who was stepping down to join a private business in another sector.

The London-listed press distributor said Clay would bring extensive experience in senior finance and strategy roles across financial and support services.

He is currently interim chief financial officer and UK and Ireland group finance director at mobility firm Zigup, formerly known as Redde Northgate.

Since joining Zigup in 2018, Clay has held several roles including head of group strategy, financial planning and analysis, and investor relations.

Earlier in his career, he held a number of finance director and chief financial officer positions at Barclays, focussed on business and corporate banking.

He started his career at Deloitte, spending eight years in corporate finance advising on strategic change, and is a qualified accountant.

"Richard joins at an exciting time for the business as we continue to capitalise on our first-class newspaper and magazine distribution capabilities and to further diversify across the specialist distribution market," said chairman David Blackwood.

Blackwood added that Clay's financial, strategic and commercial expertise would help drive growth across both new and existing revenue streams.

At 1112 BST, shares in Smiths News were down 0.32% at 55.82p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.