Van de Walle quits UB after takeover deal
United Biscuits (UB) chief executive Leslie van de Walle is to leave following its takeover by European consortium Finalrealm.
Van de Walle is seeking another job following Finalrealm’s announcement of a management reshuffle which will also see the departure of UB finance director John Warren.
Van de Walle took over as chief executive in May last year following the departure of Eric Nicoli.
A financial spokesman for Finalrealm says Van de Walle and Warren will remain in their roles until replacements can be found. No immediate appointments are expected.
As part of the deal, French group Danone, which owns Jacob’s Bakery and Evian bottled water, is buying several of UB’s central European biscuit brands, as well as UK savoury biscuit Tuc.
Finalrealm is selling UB’s Far Eastern business to Nabisco, and buying Nabisco’s European, North African and Middle Eastern biscuit brands.
