Mike Hancox

Chief Executive, OTTO UK - Freemans & Grattan

Mike Hancox, born in 1966, started his professional career with British Gas where he qualified as an accountant. He then spent 11 years in the Consumer Goods industry with Premier Brands.

In 2001 he joined the Home Shopping division of GUS plc, as the Finance director before becoming CEO of Shop Direct in 2003, following the acquisition of the business by the Barclay family.

In 2004 he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Littlewoods Shop Direct. As COO, he led the integration programme of the two mail order businesses; Littlewoods and Shop Direct; creating the UK’s largest mail order company.

Mike Hancox joined Otto UK as Chief Executive on the 1st of December 2005.

Freemans Chief Executive

Press Release

November 10, 2005

Michael Hancox new Chief Executive for Otto UK

BRADFORD, UK, 10 November 2005 - Peter Gelsdorf, Acting CEO, Otto UK - member of the Otto Group, the global trading and services organisation - today announced the appointment of Michael Hancox as the new Chief Executive for Otto UK.

Mr Hancox joins Otto UK from his role as Chief Operating Officer for Littlewoods Shop Direct Group. Prior to that appointment in 2004, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Shop Direct Group. Before entering the home shopping industry, Mr Hancox held the position of Deputy Managing Director for food and beverage specialist, Premier Brands UK.

Mr Hancox will take up his new position on 01 December 2005.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Gelsdorf said: “The Executive Board of the Otto Group has expressed their high confidence in Michael Hancox to provide the strong and effective leadership required to implement Otto UK’s strategic plans and increase its share of the growing UK Home Shopping Market.”

About Otto UK

Otto UK was formed in 2001 when two members of the Otto Group - Grattan (acquired in 1991) and Freemans (acquired in 1999) - were brought together. Otto UK employs 6,000 people in the UK. It has four main sites in Bradford, Sheffield, Peterborough and London, 15 distribution depots and 25 catalogue discount stores. Otto UK’s brand names in the mail order market are Freemans, Grattan and Kaleidoscope. Parcelnet is the distribution arm of Otto UK, delivering parcels for in-house brands and providing delivery services for many third party clients. Otto UK is a member of the Otto Group.

About Otto Group

Founded in Germany in 1949, the Otto Group is now a worldwide-operating trade and services group with more than 54,000 employees on three continents. The Otto Group operates in 19 countries in Europe, North America and Asia with a total of 123 member organisations. Its activities cover four business segments: Multichannel Retail, Financial Services, Services and Wholesale. In the financial year 2004/05, the Otto Group achieved revenues of €14,424m. Today, Otto is the largest mail order group in the world. The Otto Group is the world’s number two in business-to-consumer online trade. Over-the-counter retail trade constitutes the third pillar of the successful multichannel distribution concept at Otto, along with mail-order sales and e-commerce.