Auto Trader Group PLC (LON:AUTO) shares were in reverse on Monday morning after the car ads site revealed chief executive Trevor Mather will retire from the role next March.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said the departure of Mather, who has been Auto Trader’s boss for almost six years, “is a blow for shareholders”.
READ: Liberum hikes Auto Trader's price target
“Mather helped lead the company through the IPO process and has done a good job of running it as a public company,” said Mould.
“It has not always been the smoothest drive but more recently the company and its shares have been really motoring, with the company joining the ranks of the FTSE 100 at the end of 2018.”
Current finance boss and chief operating officer Nathan Coe will take over the reins upon Mather’s exit, and he will be promoted to the role of CEO-designate later this week.
Coe, who will continue to head up the finance team until he takes the top job full-time, has been with Auto Trader since 2007 and has helped to oversee its transition from print to online.
City broker Peel Hunt called Coe an “excellent replacement”, given his “extensive knowledge” of the business.
Once Mather steps aside and Coe moves up, deputy CFO Jamie Warner will become the new chief finance officer, while current operations director Catherine Faiers will fill the COO position.
Coe ‘more than ready’
Outgoing CEO Mather said: “It has been the greatest privilege of my career to be at the helm of Auto Trader.
“Nathan has effectively been running the business alongside me since 2017. He is more than ready to lead the company and I am proud and lucky to have worked with him.”
Chairman Ed Williams added: “We are extremely fortunate to have such a natural and outstanding replacement for Trevor in the form of Nathan Coe.”
Shares were down 1.4% to 571.6p on Monday morning.