SHANKS & McEwan, the troubled waste disposal group, has reshuffled its
top management and closed one of its main offices in the wake of the
sudden departure of chief executive Roger Hewitt.
Chairman Gordon Waddell, who took over from Mr Hewitt last month on an
interim basis, said the appointment of Michael Averill as group chief
operation officer was part of a policy of ''decentralisation and
delegation''.
Mr Averill, previously head of the Rechem subsidiary, will take
overall responsibility for the company's three main divisions -- Rechem
and waste management north and south -- and report directly to the
chairman.
''We are looking for ways to cut costs and farm out the responsibility
for the various divisions to the managements that run them,'' explained
Mr Waddell.
''There is obviously an on-going review of all our business operations
and I would think we would have a statement for the shareholders by
mid-March.''
The Aylesbury office, designated headquarters after the move from
Glasgow last year, will be closed and the adminstration personnel moved
to Bourne End, in Berkshire.
Once a darling of the stock market, Shanks has seen its share price
plummet during the past year with no fewer than three profit warnings as
the recession and operational problems took their toll. The surprise
exit of Mr Hewitt over a strategy disagreement merely added to its woes.
Mr Waddell has spoken of very difficult trading conditions, and many
City pundits believe a takeover could be on the cards.
A disappointing interim led to full-year expectations being lowered
and it looks as though even broker forecasts of #17m profit, against
#29.5m previously, must be reduced to around #15m.
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