Rentokil's Sir Clive to go it alone

THE former chairman of exhibitions and pest-control group Rentokil, Sir Clive Thompson, is about to set up his own business, and does not rule out the possibility of bidding for his old firm.

Thompson, who was sacked in May, plans to buy an off-the-shelf company to use as a vehicle for acquisitions. Longer term, he would aim to float the business.

There has been speculation that Thompson - who is a former CBI president - would seek the backing for a Rentokil bid from the venture capital group CVC, where he is a partner. But, after receiving advice from friends, Thompson believes that he can create his own business.

Even though he has been offered a chairmanship of a FTSE 100 company, he is now expected to go on his own.

Thompson refused to discuss his plans, but told Financial Mail that he would make an announcement within the next two months.

Rentokil is now valued at £2.8bn, but under the leadership of Brian McGowan shares have plunged from 186p when Thompson was sacked, to 152p.

The poor performance of Rentokil over the last quarter is already starting to put a question mark over the future of McGowan, a non-executive at Rentokil for the past eight years, who not only led a coup against Thompson, but then sacked chief executive James Wilde.

Last week - after announcing a ten% slump in profits to £180.4m - McGowan unveiled his new strategy for the company. This essentially involved keeping the group in its current form. Shares plunged nearly four% after the announcement.

The market was increasingly looking at a more radical solution to Rentokil's problems, such as selling non-core businesses and returning cash to shareholders.