Boardroom u-turn at Gateley as chair-designate departs
Gateley’s incoming chairman David Wilton will not now take up the role, with the professional services group only saying the decision had been “mutually agreed”.
His appointment was announced on January 17 and he was due to become chairman at Gateley’s AGM in October.
Gateley’s chief executive Rod Waldie had highlighted Wilton’s experience “leading and supporting companies with their growth ambitions” as the reason for the appointment.
Wilton had been chief financial officer of Sumo Group and has held non-executive director at CVS Group, Frontier Developments and Sweett Group.
Wilton also invested £51,000 in Gateley shares when he was announced as chairman designate, although the continuing fall in the group’s share price means his investment is now worth around £40,000.
At the time Waldie also said it was “an important stage in our development” with the group continuing to focus on its long-term strategy for growth through diversification in legal and consultancy services.
Wilton joined the board as chair designate and a non-executive director on February 1 but will leave the board today.
Nigel Payne
Current chair Nigel Payne, who has served for nine years, will continue in the role at the AIM-listed business until a successor is appointed.
Birmingham-headquartered Gateley, which also has bases in Leeds, Sheffield and York, has revealed today that the group’s underlying pre-tax profits will be down 9% to £22.8m because the group has allocated £4.5m for employee bonuses. Revenues for the year to April 30 are expected to be up by 5.7% to £172.0m.
Waldie said: “I am pleased with the outturn for FY24 which was helped by strong activity levels in Q4. This positions us well as we enter FY25.
“The group continues to benefit from the resilience created by our strategy of investing in an increasingly diverse but complementary range of professional services.”
