Kennedy leaves Charcol as Garfield cuts 69 jobs

John Charcol chief executive Ian Kennedy has left the mortgage broker as it announces plans to cut staff numbers by 25% and close its offices in Manchester, Guildford and Birmingham.

In all 69 staff are leaving: 39 are being laid off today from the firm’s workforce of 275, while 30 sales staff left Charcol last month after a performance review.

Charcol founder John Garfield has taken Kennedy’s place on the management team and becomes executive chairman. The firm has been given a cash injection to provide working capital by Garfield, fellow founder Charles Wishart and a personal investment from Jon Moulton of private equity firm Alchemy Partners.  

He refused to say how much the trio invested. In a statement Garfield said: ‘The turbulent and tough times that the UK economy is now facing, and the impact on the housing market in particular, will undoubtedly provide opportunities for companies that take the right actions now and in the future to ensure both survival and profitability.' 

Kennedy only joined Charcol in October and left the firm along with other members of the management team.                                      

The firm said it will continue to use two brands: John Charcol for intermediaries and its direct arm Charcol.