Rentokil City Link Head Quits Part Way Through Revamp

Petar Cvetkovic, the head of Rentokil Initial Plc’s City Link division, has quit partway through an overhaul aimed at stemming losses at Britain’s second-biggest parcel-delivery business.

Petar Cvetkovic, the head of Rentokil Initial Plc’s City Link division, has quit partway through an overhaul aimed at stemming losses at Britain’s second-biggest parcel-delivery business.

Cvetkovic will leave on Sept. 1 to “pursue interests outside Rentokil” and will be replaced by City Link’s current head of sales and marketing, Stuart Godman, according to an internal memo sent to employees. Rentokil spokesman Malcolm Padley confirmed there had been an announcement and declined to comment further.

Rentokil named Cvetkovic as managing director of City Link in February 2008 as part of an overhaul of the unit’s leadership after lost orders and “poor management” pushed it into losses. The U.K. company went on to cut its forecasts four times that year as declining results at washroom and pest-control units in Britain and Australia amplified falling earnings and prompted it to implement a three-year improvement program.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Brown reiterated in May that City Link will narrow losses to less than 20 million pounds ($33 million) this year, following a loss of 43.5 million pounds in 2008. Brown took over after CEO Doug Flynn and Chairman Brian McGowan were ousted in March 2008 following the company’s prediction of a “significant” drop in profit.

Cvetkovic joined Rentokil from courier Target Express, where he was the CEO for four years until Rentokil bought the business in November 2006. He has more than 20 years of experience in the logistics business and was previously head of the U.K. unit of French delivery company Norbert Dentressangle.

Target Acquisition

From 2005 to 2007, City Link undertook an expansion program that included the purchase of Target Express and made it the No. 2 in Britain’s 2.8 billion-pound parcel-delivery market after Deutsche Post AG’s DHL unit. The Target acquisition led to the loss of customers as different computer systems and understaffing led to a drop in service quality.

Appointed to restore profitability, Cvetkovic suspended further integration of Target Express depots for more than a year after his arrival.

City Link, which had sales of 382 million pounds last year, offers a next-day delivery service and operates from hubs in Coventry and Darlaston in central England.

Rentokil, based next to England’s Gatwick Airport, is the world’s largest pest-control company and also supplies washrooms and provides commercial kitchen cleaning, as well as maintenance and office plants.

Cvetkovic’s replacement Godman also joined City Link from Target Express.