CRC chief leaves on high note

COMPUTERS and mobile phone repair group CRC is parting company with chief executive David Ryan, who is leaving at the end of next month to join an unnamed venture capital group.

CRC said it had agreed to terminate Ryan's contract early. It is working through a shortlist of replacement candidates and said it would appoint a successor within six to eight weeks.

Ryan, 45, who has headed the firm for two years, reported a bumper set of numbers for the year to 31 December. Pre-tax profits rose 192% to £5.8m on sales up 82% to £98.1m. The dividend more than doubles to 5p.

Repairing television set-top boxes has provided a major boost for CRC in the past year although servicing Nokia handsets remains the backbone of the business. The company said it expected a 'satisfactoryî 2002 but added that a move towards new-generation mobile phones clouded its orders outlook. The shares rose 5p to 226p.