AO founder donates more than £1m to charity to help young people

The founder and chief executive of online electricals retailer AO has donated more than £1m to charity to help young people.

John Roberts has transferred over 1.47 million shares in the Bolton-headquartered company to good causes.

The shares have a current market valuation of about £1.2m.

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An AO spokesman said Mr Roberts, along with his wife Sally, support a number of charities that benefit and help young people.

The company added that the “strongly believe that talent is evenly distributed but opportunity is not”.

As a result of the transaction, Mr Roberts now has a 22.4% holding in AO, down 0.3%.

In February, the largest institutional investor in AO increased its stake for the second time in just over a month.

Camelot Capital Partners, which is headquartered in the US, upped its holding of 19.25%.

At the start of the year, AO launched a strategic review of its German business after the division was “significantly impacted” by “intensified” competition and “substantially increased” digital marketing costs.

The company said it will “evaluate a range of options” and that the board is “focused on maximising shareholder value”.

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Jon RobinsonNorth West Business Editor
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