W.H. Ireland Group plc (LON:WHI) is parting ways with its boss after the broker racked up a second consecutive year of losses.
Richard Killingbeck will step down as chief executive at the end of the month, having been at the helm for over five years.
Replacing him is City veteran Phillip Wale.The 54-year-old joins from Cantor Fitzgerald, where he has been head of fixed income for the past two years. Before that, Wale was the chief executive of WH Ireland’s rival Panmure Gordon, while he began his career a trader at Goldman Sachs and then Commerzbank.
In the 16 months to the end of March, WHI made a loss of £1.6mln (2017: loss of £1.2mln) as assets under management fell to £2.57bn (2017: £2.87bn).
The AIM-quoted firm said the reduction was “deliberate” as it closed down low-margin funds in favour of discretionary assets where fees are higher.
Chairman Tim Steel thanked Killingbeck, who has worked to move the group more into wealth management, for his “significant contribution”.
WH Ireland shares were down 6.6% at 119.6p with less than an hour of trading remaining.