Martin Stewart, co-founder of The Money Group (TMG), will be leaving his role as chief executive with immediate effect, with Scott Thorpe replacing him.

Stewart will continue his involvement with the group in an advisory capacity.

The move comes as TMG announces both a management buyout and further changes to its senior management team, subject to regulatory approval.

As well as the change in chief executive officer, Jonathan Needham will move into the managing director’s role.

Stewart says: “This is a good move all round for TMG. Sometimes founders can get end up getting in the way of the business they helped create in the first place.

The restructure gives the group room to continue its expansion plans without distractions and allows me to maintain a significant shareholding. I look froward to continuing to help Scott and the rest of the management develop TMG into one of the best distribution companies in the industry.”

And Thorpe comments: “This is just the next phase in the development of the business which has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past 12 months.

“The changes undertaken now will ensure that we can continue to develop TMG Direct as well as our founding Directly Authorised brands.

“The share restructure allows us to also look at awarding equity to our existing founder partners, which was something we have been looking to do for some time.”