Nichols chair heads for exit

THE grandson of the founder of Nichols is stepping down after more than 50 years with the Vimto drink maker.

John Nichols will retire as nonexecutive chairman – a post he held for 15 years – ‘once a suitable replacement is identified and appointed’. Shares fell 1.6pc in the firm whose brands include Feel Good, Levi Roots and Sunkist.

The Merseyside-based company was founded in 1908 when John Noel Nichols created the herbal tonic ‘Vimtonic’ to give people ‘Vim & Vigour’.