Floorcovering manufacturer Airea plc has announced the appointment of Mederic Payne as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a member of the Board of Directors.

Mederic is an experienced business leader with a strong background in multinational home improvement retail and wholesale.

Most recently he was Managing Director of Multi-Brands with Al-Futtaim Group where he was key a key driver in the strategic development and transformation of the business. Mederic has also held senior roles with Kingfisher Group plc and Landmark Retail Group plc.

Mederic brings extensive leadership, commercial and marketing expertise to the role with a passion for developing people.

Mederic Payne said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of AIREA’s Chief Executive at such an exciting time in its development, with great foundations for us to build upon and continue its success.”

Martin Toogood, Non-Executive chairman, added: “We are pleased to appoint someone with Mederic’s commercial expertise as chief executive.”

Airea has recently reported strong interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2022, with revenue for the period reaching £8.6m, £1.2m above the prior year (2021: £7.4m). In the UK, sales were 7.5% ahead of the prior six-month comparative period as home sales recovered to pre-pandemic levels.