FORMER Mirror Group boss David Montgomery has agreed to relinquish some control over his struggling European newspaper empire, Mecom.

He will give up his role as executive chairman to become chief executive. The company has appointed a headhunter, Russell Reynolds, to find a new chairman from outside.

Mecom was built up through a string of acquisitions in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It owns 300 titles, including Berliner Zeitung, and publishes 30m copies a week. The company’s share price has fallen 97% in a year because of weak advertising and concern over its £571m debt pile. It now has a market value of £27m.

Last month it issued a profit warning and said it was considering selling its Norwegian arm to reduce its debt. Mecom’s shares closed at 1.73p last Friday. In March last year it raised £570m at 78p a share to pay for acquisitions.

In a prospectus issued in April, when the company moved from AIM to the main market, Mecom’s board wrote that it was in shareholders’ interests that Montgomery retained his combined role, but that it “has unanimously agreed that, in due course, the roles will be separated”.

The company said: “Head-hunters were appointed – by David – three months ago and the issue hasn’t been discussed at the board since. Shareholders are fully onside.”

Mecom is not the only newspaper company that is struggling. The Daily Mail group is expected to confirm hundreds of job cuts when it reveals a drop in profits on Thursday.

Montgomery began his career as a subeditor at the Daily Mirror in 1973. A seven-year stint as group chief executive ended in 1999 after clashes with chairman Sir Victor Blank.

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