The corporate turnaround expert who presided over the break-up and sale of De La Rue, the Bank of England’s currency printer, is to take the helm at the troubled Scottish broadcaster STV Group.
Sky News has learnt that Clive Whiley is to be parachuted in as the new chairman of STV, whose Two Cities production company is responsible for the hit BBC police drama Blue Lights.
An announcement could come as soon as the media group’s half-year results on Thursday, one City insider said on Wednesday evening.
Sources close to one of STV’s top investors said that Mr Whiley had been asked to consider taking on the role amid mounting concern over its performance.
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He is expected to replace Paul Reynolds, the former BT Wholesale chief executive who has chaired STV since 2021.
Shares in STV Group have fallen by more than 50% during the last year, leaving the company with a market capitalisation of little more than £54m.
The company’s largest shareholders include Slater Investments and Aberforth Partners.
Mr Whiley remains chairman of Mothercare, the listed retailer, and Griffin Mining, which is also quoted on the London Stock Exchange.
Earlier this year, he oversaw the sale of De La Rue’s currency business to Atlas Holdings, a US-based private equity investor, for more than £260m.
Combined with the proceeds from the earlier sale of its authentication business, the disposals significantly exceeded investors’ expectations.
If confirmed in the STV role as expected, Mr Whiley will have another challenging turnaround job on his hands.
In July, the company which holds the ITV licence in parts of Scotland issued a bleak profit warning, saying that “as a result of a further deterioration in the commissioning and advertising markets towards the end of [the first half of the financial year] and into [the second half], our expectations for full-year revenue and adjusted operating profit are expected to be materially below consensus”.
Rufus Radcliffe, STV’s chief executive, said in the same statement: “The deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop continues to lower business confidence impacting both markets in which we operate.
“We’re making good progress in combining and streamlining our Broadcast and Digital businesses into a new Audience division, and launch plans for the creation of our radio station are going well, with key appointments made and infrastructure plans forging ahead.”
He added that its Studios arm’s delivery schedule had been hit by the UK commissioning market, “which has further weakened at the end of H1 and into the second half of the year”.
“However, in addition to winning new and repeat business in H1, we have completed production on key titles with international appeal, including high-end drama Amadeus for Sky and a third series of Blue Lights for BBC One, with the second series of The Fortune Hotel airing on ITV and STV this summer – and our development pipeline is strong.”
STV has evolved substantially from its origins in the 1950s, having changed its corporate name on several occasions since.
It has owned assets spanning the newspaper, advertising and radio sectors.
On Wednesday, the stock closed at just under 112p, down more than 3% on the day.
A spokesperson for STV declined to comment.
