Greene King’s finance director will leave the company in December after 14 years.

The pub company said Michael Shallow would step down from his role at the end of the year to pursue new challenges outside the business.

Shallow will present the company’s interim results in October and stay on to help his successor – who has yet to be chosen - get up to speed.

Greene King chief executive Tim Bridge said: “We will be sorry to see Michael leave, but clearly respect his views on what he wants to do.”

The pub company also announced that sales at its two pub and brewery divisions were in line with expectations.

Its managed arm, the Greene King Pub Company, led the way with like-for-like sales up 1.7% in the 50 weeks to 17 April 2005. Its tenanted and leased business, Pub Partners, saw like-for-like sales increase by 1%.

In March, Greene King issued £600m of bonds to partly refinance the £1.05b loan it took to buy 432 pubs from the Laurel Pub Company in July last year.

Analysts believe further purchases are now likely, although recent speculation of an offer for Scottish pub company Belhaven have been denied by its chief executive Stuart Ross.

By Chris Druce

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