Dart Group announced today that the Group Finance Director, Mike Forder, would be leaving, apparently in light of the Group's recent relocation of its head office operations from Bournemouth to Leeds. No reflection on the business itself but it’s my humble opinion that long suffering Mike saw an opportunity to get away from Chief Exec Philip Meeson and went for it!

He will be replaced by Andrew David Merrick (aged 45 but sure to age quickly with increasing exposure to Chairman and Chief Exec Big Phil!) who will takeover as Group Finance Director from 24 July 2007.

Andrew joins the Group with seemingly a wealth of expereince gained as Director of Finance at Bradford & Bingley -no experience will have prepared him for Big Phil's attitude to shareholders, analysts and anyone remotely interested in 'his' business ! He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and he’ll certainly need all the management experience he can muster to handle Phil and the bizarre attitude he brings to City meetings.

I would like to express my thanks to Mike Forder in his efforts in communicating the Dart story in the face of the huge communications jamming device that is Philip Meeson. I really don’t know how Mike put up with things for so long -he’s been suffering since ’98 after all!

Have a nice break Mike.