Elior UK has announced that Timothy Gurney managing director of contract caterer Avenance will step down at the end of the month to return to France.

After 12 years of working for parent company Group Elior in France, Gurney was seconded to Avenance in January 2004 to help it restructure.

As a result, in March of this year Avenance – Business & Industry and Eliance Restaurants became two divisions of newly created Elior UK.

In a statement the company said his secondment had concluded following the reorganisation of Elior UK’s management structure.

Michael Audis, chief executive of Elior UK, said Gurney had “performed an essential role helping to integrate four very disparate businesses acquired by the group”.

No successor has yet been named and Gurney was unavailable for comment.

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