Saga shakes up travel operations and axes insurance broking chief
Saga today announced a boardroom shake-up, restructuring travel operations hit by Britain's biggest airline failure.
Tour operations and cruises are to be combined and run by new Saga travel chief executive Robin Shaw. Jeanette Linfoot, previously the managing director of tour operations, left at the end of December.
Shaw was previously the head of Saga's cruise offering.
Saga shocked the markets in December, delivering an unscheduled trading update, warning the failure of Monarch Airlines would hit annual profit growth. Shares plummeted by a third in the wake of the announcement and have subsequently failed to materially regain lost ground.
In last month's update Saga also warned on challenging insurance broker market conditions.
Roger Ramsden, the chief executive of retail broker division Saga services, was due to step down and move to "a new role within the group". Today, after a "review of the group's operating structure" it was announced Ramsden will not take up a new position within Saga and will leave in the first quarter of 2018.
Ramsden will be replaced by Gary Duggan, who will also take on responsibility for financial services arm Saga money.
"These changes provide us with a more focused executive team as we target and invest in growth in the Saga customer base to achieve our long-term ambitions," said Saga group chief executive Lance Batchelor.
"Roger and Jeanette leave with my warmest thanks for the significant contributions they have made to the business and I wish them both all the best for the future."
Shares in the FTSE 250 firm dipped by 0.48 per cent in opening trading.