Miquel takes over at Lees Foods after father quits

by Simon Bain - 01/10/2009

"Lees Foods, where 77-year-old executive chairman Raymond Miquel stepped down unexpectedly earlier this month, has appointed Miquel’s son Clive as chief executive and 75-year-old drinks industry veteran Dr Chris Greig as chairman."

The new structure was unveiled yesterday alongside strong trading results for the Lanarkshire-based confectioner, which Miquel senior rescued from near-bankruptcy in 1993.

The shares jumped 21p to 131.5p after Lees unveiled a £1m sales rise to £8.8m in its first half.

Pre-tax profits on continuing operations jumped from £208,000 to £394,000 as margins improved, and Lees said full-year profits would beat market expectations.

On hearing of the fresh appointments from The Herald, Raymond Miquel commented: “I don’t know how dynamic Chris Greig will be.”

He declined to comment on the promotion of his son, whom he brought into the business as commercial director almost six years ago.

He added that his 12% shareholding had been cut to around 5%, but on hearing of the latest share price, he commented: “I didn’t get that for my shares, but it is a thin market.”

Clive Miquel, 49, a former international sales director for distillers Invergordon and Whyte & Mackay, has headed the group’s principal macaroon and snowball making business Lees of Scotland since 2006.

He was, however, publicity shy yesterday, with a spokesman referring to “sensitivities” around the departure of his father.

While Lees refused to comment earlier this month on the reasons for the change at the top, Raymond Miquel told The Herald that it had been “a board decision”, and that his own long-cherished plans to build the group into a bigger force through a diversifying acquisition “just didn’t fit in with what they wanted”.

His last acquisition, however, backfired when Patisserie UK was put into administration in March with the loss of 41 jobs at Livingston, only 14 months after being acquired for £1.2m in a deal which is now the subject of a warranty claim against the vendors over disclosures.

David Simson, finance director, said yesterday the directors were focused on achieving growth targets through product development, but added: “We will also consider acquisition opportunities that are complementary to our business if and when these arise.”

Raymond Miquel, however, said he was surprised. “Clive had said in the trade press they weren’t going to be looking at acquisitions meantime. I got the impression they didn’t want to move forward on that.”

He added: “I wish them luck. I had set out my structure and policy for the way forward but they didn’t want to go with it.”

Greig is the former managing director of Invergordon Distillers, which fought unsuccessfully to preserve its independence in the 1990s. He was later chairman at William Grant, Belhaven and PPL Therapeutics and a director of Robert Wiseman Diaries.

He still has five directorships, including his own farming business and the Scottish patent attorney Murgitroyd, and is a friend of Lees’ non-executive and 29% shareholder Klaus Perch-Nielsen, who is 71.

Greig said: “I am delighted to be joining the board at Lees Foods.

“I look forward to contributing to the ongoing development of the company alongside its existing strong management team.”

Lees said Clive Miquel would continue to manage Lees of Scotland at Coatbridge, with Nadia Millar staying at the helm of the smaller Waverley Bakery.

Simson said: “Both companies have successfully introduced new products to the market and we have continued to grow our business with existing customers and in addition developed new customers across the UK.”

Shore Capital, the company’s broker and nominated adviser, has upped its earnings estimate by 30% to £620,000 and says it “forecasts a full year dividend”.

More Details: http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/corporate-sme/miquel-takes-over-at-lees-foods-after-father-quits-1.923302