Industrial group’s co-founder to stand down

Melrose co-founder David Roper is to retire next year, after 17 years at the centre of the industrial group.

It owns GKN following a protracted takeover last year as well as Brush Turbogenerators and Nortek and now has a market valuation of more than £9bn.

Roper, who is executive vice chairman of the FTSE-100 group, will be 70 when he departs in May 2020. He was chief executive for nine years, from the flotation in 2003 to 2012.

It was created to buy companies that were viewed as underperforming. In 2015 it sold Elster for £3.3bn in what was then a landmark deal for the group, returning £2.4bn to shareholders.

Last year’s £8.1bn takeover of Melrose has increased the profile of the company and its key people, which was heightened by controversy over individual bonuses of more than £40m to four directors including Roper that became public last year. The payments resulted fromm a long-term incentive plan put in place in 2012.

Melrose’s current trading is in line with expectations, it has said ahead of its AGM later today.

It said: “Good progress is being made in delivering the operational improvements required in our businesses and specifically to achieve the GKN margin objectives.”

Justin Dowley, chairman of Melrose, said: “We have recently laid out our targets for GKN which are better than those we indicated only one year ago at the time of the acquisition, and which come on the back of a stronger performance than expected in the first year of ownership.

“We are delighted to keep investing in all our businesses, including Nortek and Brush, and look forward to another year of progress.”