Johnson Service Chairman to step down

3rd Jan 2014 08:07

Linen hire and workwear rental group Johnson Service has revealed that its Executive Chairman of five years, John Talbot, is to step down.Talbot, who oversaw the firm's restructuring to focus on Textile Services, will leave the board at the end of April.He will be replaced by Chris Sander, currently the Managing Director of Textile Services who has been with the company since 1984 when he joined as Rental General Manager.The news came alongside a brief trading update by the company, which said that full-year profits would be in line with expectations for 2013. Net debt is also expected to have reduced to below £25m at the end of the year, compared with £53.6m at the half-year stage due to the subsequent disposal of the the Facilities Management division.The stock rose 3.29% to 55p in early trading on Friday.BC