Quiligotti appoints new chief

LUCY ROBERTS

Quiligotti, the troubled USM-quoted tile maker, has appointed a new managing director, David Scott, and finance director, Timothy Roberts, to continue the company's restructuring.

Mr Scott, founder of a chain of Midlands-based chemist shops he sold to Lloyd's chemist in 1987, joins the group in September while Mr Roberts joins immediately in place of Tom Cahill who resigned from the board and left the company yesterday. Mr Roberts declined to comment on whether Mr Cahill left with any financial compensation.

Kenneth Hodgson, executive chairman, said the moves were part of the company's evolution and stressed that the changes would not mean a revolution.

The appointments follow the departure of chief executive James Walton in April, who resigned after his 18-month contract expired, following the implementation of a refinancing package.

The Stockport-based tile maker, which supplies supermarkets, railway stations and commercial venues, has twice been close to financial disaster and bankruptcy in the past six years and lost about pounds 6m in the past two years.

In March this year it put its home products business into receivership before reporting a pre-tax loss of pounds 788,000 for the year toJune, blaming a decline in volumes and margins.

In April 1994, it bought its main tile rival, Cristofoli, from its receivers for pounds 1.6m with cash from the group's third share issue in two years, which lifted its market share to over 85 per cent.