Cash injection and new chief for DX

DX has appointed Lloyd Dunn chief executive as well as agreeing a £24 million funding deal to address short-term cash problems.

The appointment is part of a series of board changes that mark a successful end to an eight-month campaign by Gatemore, DX’s largest shareholder, Gatemore believes that returning to profit in DX’s freight division is key to achieving a successful turnaround.

Dunn has 38 years of experience in the transport industry. In 1985, he joined Russell Black as a founding member of Nightfreight and was an executive director of the company until it was sold to private equity in 2001. He joined Tuffnells in n 2002, becoming managing director in 2003 and CEO in 2005. He led the company through a turnaround and ultimately to a £135m sale in 2014.

It is expected that Ron Series will take over as chairman from Bob Holt and that Lloyd Dunn, now CEO, and Paul Goodson and Russell Black will join the board once the company’s 2017 accounts are signed off by the current board, possibly within two weeks.

Gatemore has committed £11.05 million of the £24m of funding. Lloyd Dunn has personally committed £5 million into this financing, and the three other incoming directors are also personally investing. Hargreave Hale, an existing DX investor, has also committed £7.5 million.

Gatemore’s managing partner Liad Meidar said: “Today marks a new start for DX. We are thrilled to see Lloyd Dunn taking the reins as CEO and are looking forward to having the four nominees join the board very soon. They have all shown tremendous commitment and confidence in the future of this business with their significant participation in this financing.

“DX now has a healthy balance sheet and is poised to return to historic levels of profitability over the coming years under this new team. The enthusiasm among everyone who has been working on this is palpable.”