Inspecs Group PLC on Thursday said Chair Ian MacLaurin will retire his role on December 1 as the Bath, England-based eyewear company expects revenue to weaken amid deteriorating German and French economies.

Inspecs shares plummeted 53% to 54.00 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.

Chief Executive Officer & Founder Robin Totterman will become executive chair on December 1. Outgoing Chair MacLaurin has been chair since 2017 and was chair of Tesco PLC from 1985 to 1997 and Vodafone Group PLC chair from 1999 to 2006.

The firm expects revenue to have grown 2.8% in the nine months to September 30 to $190.2 million, from $185.0 million a year prior. On constant currency, growth would have been 9.8% to $203.0 million.

Excluding its £6.2 million acquisition of Ego Eyewear Ltd in December 2021, revenue would be 3.0% lower at £179.4 million or 3.7% higher on constant currency at £191.8 million.

However, its outlook for the period from October is pessimistic: ‘In Europe, in particular Germany, both the macro-economic climate and consumer confidence have deteriorated sharply since September 2022. German consumer confidence is now at a 25-year low and this is reflected in the order intake that is significantly down on the previous year. The group’s expectation is that the German and French markets will remain weak into the first half of 2023.’

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