Royal Liver considers future of Park Row as CEO steps down

Royal Liver is considering the future of its investment in Park Row after the distribution business suffered a deficit of £2.17 million in the first six months of the year.

The mutual society faced a difficult first half, in which it struggled with the cost of managing its legacy book and suffered an operating deficit of £90,000.

It said that chief executive Steve Burnett is stepping down, as the company enters survival mode to cope with the testing market conditions that are expected to continue through the second half of the year.

In a statement released today, the company said it will now focus its attentions on its UK protection brand Progress and Irish equivalent Caledonian Life, which are the only divisions of Royal Liver to have performed in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, Park Row and Royal Liver’s Irish distribution arm Citadel are up for review, the results said.

‘Given these developments, the board, in discussions with the chief executive, has decided that this is an appropriate time for a change of leadership to meet the new challenges facing the society,’ said chairman David Woods. ‘Accordingly, Steve Burnett has elected to leave the business after a seven-year period as chief executive.’

In the six months to 30 June 2009, Park Row’s turnover of £4.3 million was just 69% of budget, despite having ‘valiantly endured’ significant restructuring to prepare it for changes outlined in the retail distribution review, the company said.

Royal Liver said that while turnover at Citadel had improved since the first half of 2008, the poor outlook in the Irish market remained a concern.

The mutual society has already started to cut costs by outsourcing its IT function and ending expensive door-to-door collections of premiums.