EUROPE

New chief exec for ABP

14 years ago

The current chief executive at Associated British Ports (ABP), Peter Jones, has announced he will be retiring at the end of March 2013 after six years at the helm.

Peter Jones will step down as ABP chief executive in March 2013

He will be succeeded by James Cooper, who has been a non-executive director of ABP since 2007.

James Cooper is currently a director of Infracapital, the European infrastructure fund of M & G Investments, one of the four investors in the Admiral Consortium that acquired ABP in 2006.

It has been mooted that his appointment is a strategic move by the consortium and may have been the intention ever since ABP was taken over by Goldman Sachs-led consortium, Admiral Acquisitions UK, in 2006.

At that time, Bo Lerenius, chief executive of ABP, staved off several unwelcome takeover approaches, but Admiral’s last bid proved sufficient enough to force the sale.

ABP were unavailable to comment on the issue.

But it did say that Mr Jones is leaving the business “well placed to face the challenges of the future” whilst its opportunities for growth have “never been greater”.

Mr Cooper will join the team at ABP on 1 March 2013 and will assume responsibility as chief executive from the beginning of April.