Kingfisher speeds up search for Mulcahy's successor

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Kingfisher, the DIY and electrical goods retail group, has stepped up its search to find a replacement for its chief executive, Sir Geoff Mulcahy, and hopes to make an appointment within a couple of months.

The company is determined to choose a successor who can integrate Castorama into its own business if its contested £3.2bn bid to take full control of the French DIY retailer succeeds, possibly as early as August. Publicly the group is sticking to its original timetable of finding a new chief executive within the next six months.

Sources close to Kingfisher said relations between Sir Geoff and the senior management of Castorama have completely broken down. Francis Mackay, Kingfisher's chairman, told a shareholder meeting yesterday that Sir Geoff was "driving forward" the search for a new chief executive.

Around 150 shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting approved on a show of hands Kingfisher's plan to buy the 44.5 per cent of Castorama it does not already own and a related £2bn rights issue to part fund the deal. Mr Mackay also revealed that more than 99 per cent of the proxy votes were in favour of the plans.

But the deal did not meet the approval of all of Kingfisher's investors. One described the cash call as "luxurious". Another said: "This proposal will be a very bad deal for Kingfisher.... This will stifle the value of Kingfisher shares for a long, long time to come."

Peter Goldstein, who sold the Superdrug chain to Kingfisher in 1987 (since sold on) and a former non-executive director, also criticised the company's strategy. "Regrettably it is this management that has destroyed shareholder value," he told the meeting.Sir Geoff remained silent throughout the egm at London's Landmark Hotel.

The outcome of the contested deal rests with Rothschild et Cie, the French merchant bank appointed independent arbiter of offer. It will rule next month on the minimum price Kingfisher must pay for Castorama's shares. If the bank sets a price above the €67 a share that Kingfisher has offered, the British conglomerate will have three months to decide whether to raise its bid or walk away.

Kingfisher also needs clearance from the competition watchdogs and the French stock market authorities.