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SUGAR STANDS DOWN AS AMSTRAD BOSS

Sir Alan Sugar has stepped down as Amstrad chairman

Wednesday July 2,2008

By Express.co.uk City reporter

Sir Alan Sugar has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad in what he says is a planned move following the company’s acquisition by Sky in 2007.

But the entrepreneur and self-made multimillionaire, best known in recent years as the no-nonsense boardroom chairman in BBC reality TV show The Apprentice, is not retiring.

He will continue to be involved with his other business interests, which include Amshold, Amsprop, Amsair and Viglen computers.

Sir Alan Sugar said: “This is a move that has been planned for a while and it’s the right time for me to step down from my role at Amstrad.

“The past 40 years have seen Amstrad grow from a start-up business to the success story that it is today, which is credit to the talented and loyal team here.”

For the last 10 months, Sir Alan has worked closely with Amstrad Managing Director Alun Webber, who took over the day-to-day running of the company last year and who combines the job with his role as Sky’s group director of strategic project delivery.

Sir Alan added: “Alun has worked closely with Amstrad over a number of years and is the right person to build on the success that we have seen to date. I step back knowing that the company’s future is in good hands.”

Coming from a humble background as the son of an East End tailor, Sir Alan, aged 61, has achieved a net worth of £830m and was ranked 92nd in the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List (down from 84th in 2007).

He left school at the age of 16 and founded Amstrad (Alan Michael Sugar TRADing) at the age of 21. The company was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1980 and sold to BSkyB in a £125 million deal in July 2007, earning him a £34.5 million windfall.

Most of his wealth now comes from his property portfolio, rather than business ventures however.
He also chaired Tottenham Hotspur FC from 1991 to 2001 after a takeover battle with Robert Maxwell, and was knighted in 2000 for his services to business.

He will be back on TV screens starring in a fifth series of The Apprentice next year.