Conservatives select Very Group’s finance boss to fight General Election

The chief financial officer of The Very Group has been selected as a Conservative candidate at the up-coming General Election.

Ben Fletcher will contest the Crewe and Nantwich constituency which is currently held by fellow Tory, Kieran Mullan.

Mullan has been the area’s MP since December 2019 but announced in February this year that he would be stepping down at the next General Election.

The seat was previously held by Conservative Edward Timpson from may 2010 and by Labour’s Laura Smith from June 2017.

Fletcher has been chief finance and transformation officer at The Very Group, which includes Very and Littlewoods, since February 2023.

He joined the Liverpool company as group chief financial officer in January 2020.

Mr Fletcher was previously president, UK and Europe, at Clarks from July 2017 to October 2019. He has also held senior positions at Boots and Procter & Gamble.

In a LinkedIn post, Mr Fletcher said: “I am delighted to have been chosen as The Conservative Party candidate for Crewe and Nantwich for this year’s General Election.

“Many of you who know me well are aware of my long interest in politics and public policy, and that I think public service is a privilege.

“I’m looking forward to campaigning on my passion for early years outcomes, as well as the importance of skills, healthy communities, and tax and public service reform.

“I’m grateful for the support of the Very Group to realise this opportunity, and remain committed to the company as CFO.”

In its half-year results for the six months to December 30, 2023, The Very group’s revenue went from £1.219bn to £1.226bn while it went from making a pre-tax profit of £2.1m to a loss of £2m.

In the UK, The Very Group’s revenue increased from £1.029bn to £1.058bn, but Littlewoods’ sales fell from £147.3m to £128.9m. Very Ireland’s revenue decreased from £42m to £39.6m.