James Halstead chairman resigns after 55 years in position

Geoffrey Halstead, who had worked within the James Halstead group for 70 years, 55 of them as a director of the firm, said he was "very proud" of how the group had grown in the second half of the 2017 calendar year, having recorded strong growth thanks to a "first class effort."

Halstead, who stepped down from his role on Friday, said he felt he was leaving the company in "very good hands".

Anthony Wild was set to take on Halstead's role as chairman.

In other movements, Stephan Hall became the company's new senior independent managing director, and Russell Whiting and Michael Halstead also joined the group's board.

Looking forward, Halstead said, "Current year trading continues in line with our budgets against competitive headwinds."

"It is pleasing that the Board is once again proposing a record dividend of 9.25p and given that an abundance of new ranges and designs are being launched in 2018 I remain confident in the prospects of the Company going forward," he added.

As of 0915 GMT, shares remained untraded at 448.00p.