Tim Lodge secures sweet role as Tate & Lyle FD

The company said it had appointed Lodge after a “thorough competitive
process” of searching for a replacement for his predecessor, John Nicolas, who
stepped down by mutual agreement with the board last September.

Lodge is a Tate & Lyle veteran with 20 years’ service at the sugar giant
under his belt across its UK and international businesses. He has been its group
financial controller and finance director for the European division of its food
and industrial ingredients business.

The appointment of an insider may seem predictable, but having a group FD who
knows the business well at operational and group level, and who is intimately
acquainted with its existing investor base, could prove wise.

Lodge is well placed to assist Sir Peter Gershon, non-executive chairman of
FTSE-250 engineering support services group Premier Farnell, who will join the
board on 1 February to succeed Sir David Lees as chairman by the close of the
year. “Tim’s comprehensive knowledge and understanding of our business will be
of great value to the board,” chairman Sir David Lees said of his promotion.

The company, which joined the FTSE-100 from the FTSE-250 in late December,
said it would increase its interim dividend by 4.6% from the same time in 2007
to 6.8p per share, despite reporting an 8% increase in net debt between March
and November to £1.1bn.