Under-fire WH Smith holds Court in search for next chair

WH Smith, the London-listed travel retail group, is drawing up plans to identify a new chairman amid a battle to restore investors' faith in the company.

Sky News has learnt that a search for two new non-executive directors is expected to lead to the recruitment of a candidate capable of replacing Annette Court within about 18 months. WH Smith, which was plunged into crisis by the emergence of accounting errors which sent its shares spiralling in the second half of last year, has said it wants to appoint a new board member with experience of the North American travel retail market - a key region for the company.

Ms Court, who has only chaired WH Smith for three years, is also on the board of the accounting software group Sage. Last week, she was appointed senior independent director of Next, the FTSE-100 clothing retailer.

One person with knowledge of the WH Smith appointment process said that Russell Reynolds Associates was advising the company. They added that while Ms Court was not expected to step down during this calendar year, she may do so in 2027.

A source close to the company said that Ms Court had been deeply involved in addressing its troubles in recent months and that its board was focused on effective succession planning rather than an active search for a new chair. WH Smith is expected to face a string of questions from shareholders at its annual meeting early next month about the accounting crisis.

The company is already without a permanent chief executive after Carl Cowling stepped down when the scale of the issues became clear. It has appointed Andrew Harrison, who previously ran its UK travel division, as its interim boss.

WH Smith is now under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over the accounting issues, with former senior executives now expected to have parts of their bonus awards clawed back. Read more on Sky News:Abu Dhabi group eyes UK firmRAC's future options revealedNext eyes high street rival Its travails with regulators capped a tumultuous year for the company, which included the sale of its historic high street chain to Modella Capital, a specialist retail investor.

WH Smith has also drawn attention from activist investors including Palliser Capital, which acquired a stake in the business last summer. Shares in the company closed on Friday at 643.5p, giving it a market capitalisation of about £810m.

The stock has fallen by about 45% over the last year. A spokesman for WH Smith declined to comment on Sunday..