Woodward Foodservice chief executive Ed Hyslop and trading director Dave Howarth have left the company after intervention by its biggest shareholder, Baugur.
Baugur was not prepared to comment on the reason for the departures, but the Icelandic company is believed to have lost patience over problems Woodward was encountering in its integration of DBC Foodservice, which it took over in September last year.
The integration was complex because DBC was already larger than Woodward at the time of the deal, and was in the process of taking on the £150m a year food supply deal for the entire Ministry of Defence, which it had won with a very keen tender.
Baugur said: "We remain fully supportive and confident about the opportunities that Woodward Foodservice offers as the third-largest foodservice business in the UK."
Finance director Andrew Ramsden has taken over as managing director and Baugur has brought in Jeremy Woodward, founder of the company, as an adviser.
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