Homeware group Ultimate Products has appointed outgoing Princes boss Simon Harrison as its first externally appointed CEO.
Harrison will join Ultimate Products as CEO designate in early September before assuming the role of CEO on 26 October 2026.
Ultimate Products owns leading homeware brands including Salter, founded in 1760, and Beldray.
Harrison has more than 25 years’ experience in commercial and leadership roles in the fmcg industry. His most recent position at Princes saw him join as chief commercial officer in 2021 before working his way up to CEO and stewarding the company through its acquisition by NewPrinces and subsequent London IPO.
Princes Group shares plummeted 17% last week after it announced his departure, set for 30 June 2026. Ultimate Products’ shares were up 2.3% in the morning following its announcement.
Harrison’s new role will see him succeed Ultimate Products CEO Andrew Gossage, who will step down after more than 20 years’ executive experience within the group.
Gossage will return to the group as a non-executive director following a short sabbatical. President and founder Simon Showman, who served as CEO until 2024, will also move to a non-executive director role from 1 June.
Ultimate Products chairwoman Christine Adshead said the board was “delighted” to welcome someone of Harrison’s calibre.
“He brings outstanding leadership qualities, strong operating discipline and considerable commercial experience, and we are confident that he has the right credentials to take Ultimate Products forward into its next chapter. We look forward to welcoming him to the team.”
Harrison said: “Ultimate Products is a business with significant potential, based on a portfolio that includes some of the best-known brands in UK homeware, and supported by long-standing customer relationships and a scalable commercial model.
“I am delighted to be taking on the CEO role from Andrew Gossage, who alongside Simon Showman has built and developed the business into the strong platform it is today. This represents an exciting personal opportunity for me, and I look forward to working with the board and the wider team to lead the business into what I am confident will be a bright future.”
Analyst at House broker Shore Capital analyst Clive Black said Gossage and Showman had completed “tenures of immense achievement” at Ultimate Products.
“Messrs. Gossage and Showman have built UP into a firm with an excellent proprietary brand assortment, most notably Beldray and Salter, and a formidable operating platform,” he said.
“The changes represent a continuum of cultural and executive evolution of the firm, led by Mr Gossage, from a proprietorial past to one whereby UP press on as a resilient and scalable business led by a strong proprietary operating team that has been assembled in recent years.”
Harrison, Black added, makes ”a quite fabulous appointment”.
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