Management changes at Blue Diamond
Mike Vaudin will retire as managing director next summer. He will become a non-executive member of the board as Alan Roper, the current retail director, succeeds him.
Mike Vaudin has been with Blue
Diamond for 45 years. He was made a director in 1978 and became the first
non-family managing director in 1998. Under his leadership, the privately owned
family business has focussed on developing destination garden centres. Other
activities, including a UK chain of sports shops and a
computer software company have been sold. Having bedded in two major new garden
centres at Trentham and the Festival Gardens near Spalding, Blue Diamond
intends to make further acquisitions and hopes for planning permission to expand
some of its smaller centres.
Alan Roper has been retail director since
2002 and will become managing director next summer. He joined the company in
1999.
Blue Diamond’s mainland sales have grown rapidly in the last 2
years, increasing from £5m in 2003 to £15.5 in 2005 as the new centres have come
on line. Overall group sales are currently around
£30m.
Picture: left to
right
Alan Roper, Percy (P.D.) Dorey (the
original driving force of the company) and Mike Vaudin.
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