Thorley to leave Punch on 3 September

Punch Taverns chief executive Giles Thorley will leave the business a week tomorrow — Friday 3 September.

His replacement, Ian Dyson, the former Marks & Spencer finance director, starts on Monday 6 September.

Thorley told the Morning Advertiser that there will no handover period.

"He's keen not to have two of us in the office at the same time with people not sure who to speak to — and he'll be fine, just fine.

"Ian's a scouser who regards himself as a leisure industry person — his time at Marks & Spencer was a detour into retail."

Thorley said he had "some ideas" about what he wanted to do next but that it wouldn't be in the pub trade — his first task will be move back into his family home which has been undergoing building work.

He will, however, remain on the board of the Matthew Clark wholesale business, Punch's joint venture with Constellation, for a while.

Thorley also revealed that he had told the non-executive board at Punch in July 2009 that he wanted to step down — earlier reports suggested that Thorley had made the decision in September 2009.

His successor began his career as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen, and became a partner in 1994.

He left that year to become finance director at the Meridien hotels division of Forte. He then moved to join to join the Hilton Group, where he was group financial controller and financial director for the international hotels division from 1996 to 1999.

Dyson then joined Rank Group as finance director, where he helped lead the leisure group through a substantial restructuring.

He went to Marks & Spencer in 2005.