Two women at top in Burberry

INTERNET bank Egg's former finance director Stacey Cartwright has resurfaced at luxury goods group Burberry, giving the near-£2bn business a female top two in the boardroom.

Cartwright, 39, will take over from finance chief Mike Metcalf who steps down next March. The move comes two months after Cartwright said she was leaving Egg to 'seek fresh challenges'.

Burberry chief executive Rose Marie Bravo said she was delighted with the appointment. 'I am confident Stacey will make a great contribution to Burberry in the years ahead,' she added.

Cartwright joined Egg in 2000 after 12 years at Granada Media, where she rose to the position of commercial director. She picked up £472,000 in wages and bonuses last year.

Her appointment was revealed as Burberry reported a 21% jump in underlying earnings to £66.9m for the first half of the year to 30 September on the back of strong sales of its famous beige, black and red plaid designs.

Revenue rose by 17% to £321.3m with underlying retail sales growth of 20%. The fastest growth came in menswear while the group was also seeing strong demand for its new Brit fragrance.