The long-serving chief executive of Perth’s Braveheart Investment Group stepped aside yesterday as the financial services firm posted a full-year loss.
Geoffrey Thomson was a co-founder of the group in 1997 and has remained at the helm for the last 18 years but will now sever his ties with the business.
Non-executive director Trevor Brown, who joined the board of Braveheart last year, has taken over as CEO on an interim basis.
The firm also announced two further senior management changes, with former Hume Capital CEO Jonathan Freeman joining the board with immediate effect and Andrew Burton, chief executive of Braveheart’s principal fund management business Viking, expected to take up a seat in due course.
Mr Thomson’s deparure and the boardroom reshuffle came as Braveheart reported a £767,813 loss for the year to March 31 from continuing operations and total revenues of £1.83 million.
The company made a modest profit of £15,428 last year from continuing operations from a slightly higher turnover figure of £2.04m.
Lower fees on funds under management contributed to the fall in revenues, but a significant part of the overall loss came as a result of a £1.08m write-down in the value of its investment portfolio.
The firm also swallowed £123,000 of redundancy and restructuring costs as it made changes to the way it operates
In May, the firm said it had completed the restructuring exercise and announced that chief investment officer Carolyn Smith would be leaving.
Total costs are now expected to be around £340,000 lower annually.
Braveheart chairman Jeremy Delmar -Morgan yesterday said: “During the year and post-year end three executive directors, including Geoffrey Thomson our CEO, left us.
“Geoffrey, who has been Braveheart’s CEO for 18 years, was one of the founders of Braveheart and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his contribution over so many years and to wish him well for the future.”
Mr Thomson will remain on the board of the operating companies for a short period while the requisite regulatory approvals are obtained to allow him to depart.
The new interim CEO Trevor Brown has been a strategic investor in equities and real estate for more than 30 years.
He is currently a non-executive director of Feedback plc and previously worked with Advanced Oncotherapy as they brought forward their advanced cancer treatment services.
Shares in Braveheart were unchanged yesterday.