Stockell has stood down because "he wishes to be free to pursue recently emerged opportunities which may otherwise have conflicted with his position on the board of Wyndeham", the group said in a statement.

Chairman Bryan Bedson said a recruitment process was underway "to replace Robert with a new fully independent non-executive director."

Stockell joined the group at the end of March when it acquired pre-press firm Graphic Facilities. He has a strong business background and expertise in listed companies.

He was a management consultant from 1989 to 1994 before joining Laporte where he was managing director of three divisions. From the end of 1996 to 2000 he was chief executive of SGB Group, which he successfully floated. At the time of his appointment at Wyndeham Stockell had also been recently made non-executive director of Hampson Industries.