Shares in Serco Group (LON:SRP) PLC slipped 6% following news that chief executive, Rupert Soames, was to retire.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said “Soames is widely credited as reviving Serco’s fortunes.”
“He restored the outsourcing group’s credibility after the electronic tagging scandal where Serco took responsibility for three offences of fraud and two of false accounting between 2010 and 2013.”
Mould said now “the business has returned to notably better health.”
“Its reputation has improved, debt is forecast to come down and profit is expected to go up, which means Soames can exit knowing he has made a difference” Mould said.
Peel Hunt analyst Christopher Bamberry said Soames was “highly regarded.”
But he added his successor, Mark Irwin, was “well known to analysts, having been a regular presenter at results presentations.”