Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Trainline has found its new leader after parting ways with Jody Ford in February. Long-suffering shareholders hoping for a share price resurrection have been begging for the replacement boss to be the one and not fool’s gold. Unfortunately, a 5% share price drop on hiring Ian Brown indicates he is not what the world was waiting for.
“Brown joins from Flutter and brings experience with digital platforms, qualities which could help Trainline in its quest to fight off growing competition in the transport ticketing space. However, a major structural headwind means he will need more than just digital experience to succeed.
“Shareholders have endured two years of share price pain as the market worries about the UK government’s plans to create a single state-backed rail ticketing platform, thereby aggregating fares across all operators and going head-to-head with Trainline. This matters because the UK is so important to Trainline, despite enjoying stronger growth overseas.”
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