Eleco plc

("Eleco" or the "Company" )

Directorate Change

Eleco plc, the AIM quoted construction software specialist, announces that John Ketteley, Executive Chairman of the Company, has decided to retire from the Board and has stepped down with immediate effect.  

Serena Lang, currently Deputy Chairman, has agreed to act as Chairman. Serena has the experience of a distinguished and multi-faceted career to bring to the role, including running the highly profitable North Europe and Africa Division of the international software and process business of Invensys PLC. 

The Board is pleased to announce that Jonathan Hunter, the current COO, has been appointed as Interim CEO.  Having worked closely with John for the last decade, Jonathan is acutely familiar with the operations and is well placed to lead the business going forward.

John has decided that, after 23 years in the role and having been instrumental in transforming the business into the profitable and growing software specialist of today, it is an appropriate moment to retire from the Company and provide the opportunity for a fresh perspective from the position of Chairman to focus the Board on the substantial new opportunities that lie ahead.

On the eve of his retirement, John said:

"I have decided it is the right time for me to stand down after so many years of service and hand the reins over. I am so pleased to be able to do so at the same time as we announce truly outstanding Interim Results.

When I was invited to join Eleco in 1997 to help rescue the Company, at the request of its then stockbroker Cazenove, the share price was just 7p and the business almost bankrupt. I am proud to leave Eleco in a very different position as a genuine market-leader in the provision of software and related support services to the construction industry. I am humbled by the confidence shareholders have shown in me throughout my tenure and I thank them for it.

Having worked with Serena and Jonathan for many years, I have full confidence they will skilfully navigate Eleco towards an ever-brighter future as Chairman and Chief Executive, respectively. I wish them every success and good fortune in their new roles.

I also wish success and good fortune to each and every employee of Eleco, the backbone of our businesses, be they in the UK, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands or the USA.  It has been a real privilege to work with them all."

Serena Lang commented: "On behalf of the Board, I wish to pay tribute to John for his enormous contribution over the last 23 years in delivering the profitable and growing software business of today and wish him all the very best for the future. I look forward to working closely in the months ahead with Jonathan Hunter and the rest of the team in continuing successfully to address the near-term challenges that the current economic conditions present but more importantly to progressing both the new opportunities already in hand and building future growth and development of the business. "

About Eleco plc

Eleco plc is an AIM-listed (AIM:ELCO) specialist international provider of software and related services to the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Owner/Operator (AECO) industries and interior furnishing industries from centres of excellence in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and the US.  

The Company's market leading, Elecosoft, software solutions are developed by teams in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Germany; and its solutions cover project management, estimating, timber engineering, CAD and visualisation, asset and facility management and cloud based digital marketing solutions.