Premier Foods names new CEO and chairman

THE troubled owner of Mr Kipling cakes took the unusual step of appointing a new chief executive and chairman at the same time as it seeks to plug a leadership vacuum.

Premier Foods announced that City heavyweight Colin Day, who spent a decade as finance boss at consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, is its new chairman.

Alex Whitehouse, who has led the company’s efforts to turn around its UK business, was installed as chief executive after a seven-month search. Gavin Darby stepped down at the end of January just months after 40pc of investors opposed his reappointment.

Alastair Murray, who acted as interim chief executive, will leave the business immediately. Mr Murray was finance boss at the cake maker for six years. He will be replaced by an internal candidate, Duncan Leggett, until a permanent successor is found.

Shareholder advisory group Pirc warned that Premier had set itself up for a “succession planning problem” when its previous chairman, Keith Hammell, exited in May.

“Ideally, the chairman would arrive before the chief executive because effectively the whole issue of recruiting a chief executive should be within the competence of the chairman who runs the board,” said Tim Bush of Pirc.

Denying an incoming chairman the opportunity to choose the next chief executive has led to problems at other companies in the past, such as HSBC, which parted company with John Flint this summer after just 18 months. Mr Flint took the top job at the same time that Mike Tucker became chairman but the duo failed to gel.

Premier Foods has endured a turbulent relationship with its shareholders in recent times. It was criticised for rejecting a 65p-a-share takeover bid from US spice maker Mccormick in 2016 and entering a commercial tie-up with Japanese noodle maker Nissin instead.

Shares in the maker of Bird’s custard and Batchelors soup have fallen by about a fifth in 12 months and slipped 0.25p to 32.8p yesterday, about half the value Mccormick had offered.

Premier’s restructuring plan was dealt a blow in February when it failed to attract acceptable offers for the sale of its Ambrosia custard brand, while activist investors Oasis and Paulson secured seats on the board in the spring.

The new management team’s task will be to come up with a plan to revive Premier’s fortunes. Mr Day said he would move to bolster the board by appointing two independent non-executive directors “as soon as possible”.

During his time at Reckitt, Mr Day formed a successful double act with Bart Becht, chief executive at the time. The share price doubled during his time at the maker of Vanish and Nurofen. He will bring “extensive experience at a pivotal time in the company’s history”, said Richard Hodgson, Premier’s senior independent director.

Mr Day currently sits on the boards of aerospace engineering firm Meggitt and financial information provider Euromoney Institutional Investor. Other previous roles include stints on the boards of Cadbury and easyjet, as well as at advertising giant WPP and engineering company Amec Foster Wheeler, now part of Wood Group.