Naked Wines has appointed former CEO and current shareholder Rowan Gormley as an advisor to the board.

Gormley, who announced his departure in November 2019, will work with the company as it “finalises its revised operational and financial plans” for the business. Naked expects to announce the revised plans in mid-October.

Gormley owns 2.9% of the company’s share capital and the board position, expected to last two or three months, is unpaid.

Darryl Rawlings, chairman, said:  “We wanted shareholder involvement in our ongoing operational and financial planning process. I welcome Rowan providing his insight to us because his operational familiarity with the business and his viewpoint as a shareholder will provide a unique and valuable perspective to the board as we position Naked for long-term growth.”

The move comes after Naked Wines issued a business update earlier in September. The company said it was “reviewing potential operational and financial plans for the next 18 months”. The announcement said the group is “developing plans on demonstrating increased profitability, cost restraint and improved payback”.

“Alongside this process, we are in active discussions to address our credit facility to reflect any revised plan,” Naked said.

Analysts at Davy Research called the wording of the business update “curious”. The research team said in a note to clients: “We are unsure quite what to make of that — there is clearly some strategic introspection at work and seemingly possible tension around credit facilities.”

The Davy note also highlighted the recent resignation of Pratham Ravi from the board, after less than a month in the position.