Nichols has appointed Matthew Rothwell (currently Deputy CFO at THG) as CFO, joining by 13 Apr 2026. His Deloitte training and senior finance roles at Asda and Sainsbury’s bring direct FMCG and grocery-account expertise. We use this news to highlight the shares are oversold. The implied H1/H2 split (44/56) mirrors FY24 and we remain confident Nichols will hit full-year expectations. Investment case: asset-light, high-margin Vimto platform, UK NPD and rapid international scaling (Africa/Middle East) underpin a 5-year EPS CAGR of 8% and strong cash returns. Valuation is depressed (sub-10x FY25 EV/EBITDA) with c.6% FCF yield and ~3% DPS. Cheap, cash-generative, defensive Buy.
