Rob Templeman: the man behind Debenhams' share placing

“I don’t know anything,” Debenhams chief executive Rob Templeman regularly tells journalists. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Templeman has overseen some of the most high-profile turnarounds and retail deals over the past 12 years and has garnered respect from his peers. What he doesn’t know about private equity is not worth knowing, people say.

As boss of Debenhams, which since its flotation in May 2006 has frequently been the City’s whipping boy, Templeman has, with his team, led improvements at the retailer culminating in a £323m share placing last week.

At the time of taking Debenhams private in 2003, he and his colleagues – including valued numbers man Chris Woodhouse and veteran chairman John Lovering – tightened what was a flabby business in terms of costs and working capital. After they returned it to the stock market in 2006, valuing it at £1.95bn, Templeman, Woodhouse and Lovering banked an estimated £57m.

However, like Templeman’s powerboat racing, for which he has a penchant, it has not always been a smooth ride. Debenhams became a prime example of the derided private equity “quick flip”. Templeman tried to reassure the market that its £1bn debt was not an issue but the market remained stand-offish. Critics argued that not enough had been spent on store revamps and a series of profit warnings followed.

Templeman’s prowess as a fashion retailer was questioned. However, it is significant that many of Debenhams’ key managers in place before its sale have stood by his side. There is a strong camaraderie among Templeman and his team – who all share his dry sense of humour – evident at analyst presentations and press shows, where the informal Templeman is very visible.

“He is pretty hands-on,” says Singer Capital Markets analyst Matthew McEachran. “He is pretty black and white and his team come across as very transparent. They have, as a team, moved together quickly to address the challenges at Debenhams.” The latest example was the share placing, slashing Debenhams’ £927m debt and providing headroom on covenants and cash for opportunistic acquisitions.

It is a “roll-up their sleeves and get stuck in” mentality that has enabled success, says McEachran. Pali analyst Nick Bubb says Templeman is a retailer as well as a deal-broker. “He is a great trader. He is not your typical fashion retailer – his background is in out-of-town sheds – but his basic retail nous is trading. It could be apples and pears in the market.”

A whistle-stop tour of the rails of new season stock with Templeman reveals detailed product knowledge and a candour not always displayed by retail chiefs. He questions, for instance, whether a houndstooth jacket will sell and still refers to “messing up” menswear following the float.

Speculation that Templeman was to step down last year was fuelled by the appointment of former George at Asda chief Angela Spindler as managing director. She left after only a year. Sources say that Spindler, charged with control of the Debenhams brand, wanted to take the retailer away from its promotional stance that Templeman has steadfastly backed.

Although deputy chief executive Michael Sharp has shared more of the limelight in recent months, Templeman reassured analysts last week that he wasn’t going anywhere soon.

McEachran says: “Rob likes challenges. Debenhams will always be a challenging job and once that changes it might not appeal any more, but that will be a way off.” Bubb adds: “He is a good people guy, he is affable; deep down he is quite a private person.”

But when the modest Templeman jokes about not knowing anything about retail, take it with a pinch of salt.