Gymshark: Finance chief abruptly leaves apparel giant

The chief financial officer of Gymshark has abruptly departed the business after two years in post.

Mat Dunn joined the Solihull-headquartered company in December 2022, having been hired from Asos where he was chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

He had previously worked as CFO at Robinsons squash maker Britvic and at South African Breweries before that.

Having started his career at Guinness owner Diageo, Dunn has also held roles at Sabmiller and EMI Music.

A Gymshark spokesperson said: “Mat Dunn was employed as chief financial officer from December 2022 to November 2024.

“During that time, Mat was instrumental in evolving our finance and commercial functions, and we thank him for all he contributed.”

Dunn’s departure comes after Gymshark reported a pre-tax profit of £13m for the year to 31 July, 2023, down from £27.8m in the prior 12 months.

However, the company’s EBITDA, excluding exceptional costs, increased from £39.9m to £45.3m. Gymshark said it focuses more on that measure “due to its proxy for underlying trading performance”.

Over the same financial year, Gymshark’s revenue increased from £484.4m to £556.2m.

The company’s latest set of accounts are not due to be filed with Companies House until the end of April 2025.

Gymshark looks to boost sales and profit

Gymshark was founded by Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan in 2012. In 2020, it was valued at more than £1bn when US private equity firm General Atlantic acquired a 21 per cent stake.

In February, when the latest set of accounts were revealed, Gymshark said: “During the last financial year, apparel businesses have continued to face rising input costs, including rising raw materials and labour costs.

“However, other costs notably freight began to normalise during the financial year.

“The board continued to monitor these costs closely as well as changes to the macro environment, from a vernal perspective and with regard to conditions in key geographies.

“The consumer has been hit by the general macro-economic climate, with inflation and cost-of-living increases impacting discretionary spending.

“Despite these pressures, the board is pleased to report that the group has continued to grow its sales and improve profitability, and is particularly impressed with the business’s performance during the second half of the financial year.”

Gymshark added: “The overall strategy of the group remains to continue increasing revenues in a profitable and sustainable manner and to create and develop desirable products to its growing consumer base.”

During the year, the average number of people employed by Gymshark fell from 918 to 853.