More changes at Mouchel

17 October 2011

David Sugden has resigned from the board of Mouchel just days after taking on the role of interim chairman.

He is being replaced by Sir Michael Lyons, senior independent director, who is leading the search for a new external chairman. Sir Michael will chair the board while a new chairman is sought.

It is the latest of several changes at UK-based support services group Mouchel since it overstated its profit figure by £4.3 million (€5 million) in an interim management statement it issued in June.

The company works with government agencies, local authorities, government-regulated industries and the private-sector "to provide safe, reliable roads and railways, well-managed education and civic infrastructure, clean water, and cost-effective energy".

Last week, Grant Rumbles took over as Mouchel's chief executive, succeeding Richard Cuthbert who resigned from the company on 6 October after the accounting error.

Mr Sugden joined the board of Mouchel in January 2011 as a non-executive director. His appointment as interim chairman last week was part of a process which Mouchel described as strengthening the Mouchel board. The company said his resignation followed further discussions with the board and other key parties about the best way to secure the group's future.

Mouchel said the lending banks had informed the board that they were fully supportive of the board and its executive team which believed that Mouchel had "strong and valuable businesses which need to be supported by a stable, long-term financial structure".

According to Mouchel, executive directors Grant Rumbles and Rod Harris remain focused on the steps necessary to secure the future of the company, and it said they enjoyed the full support and confidence of the board and its lenders.