BCH Vehicle Management's figurehead and leading industry commentator Richard Pepper has resigned from the company, sparking a major management reshuffle. Pepper, who has been involved with the firm since 1970, has left to 'pursue other interests outside the company'. The Bristol-based firm said it had been preparing for Pepper's departure for a month.

Keith Allen, formerly the finance director, will take over as managing director, while Nigel Fletcher, who only recently joined BCH from Swan National as operations director, takes a place on the board as deputy managing director. David Yates, sales and marketing director, will continue his role as main board director and Mel Dawson, commercial director, will also join the board.

Pepper joined the company in 1970 when it was called Bryan Contract Hire, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bryan Brothers Holdings, then a Ford dealer in Bristol. In 1989, he left to take up the position of managing director of Cowie Interleasing South, returning as managing director of Bryan Contract Hire in 1990, before becoming managing director of Bryan Brothers Holdings in 1994. He led a management buy-out of Bryan Contract Hire at the end of 1995, changing the company name to BCH Vehicle Management and in 1997 the firm was floated on the stock exchange.

In January this year, he led the sale of the firm to ALD Autoleasing, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. Pepper was unavailable for comment, but Allen said: 'When someone achieves so much at a company, they may look for other challenges and following the Deutsche Bank sale it took Richard time to decide what to do.'