Entertainment Rights, the media company which owns Basil Brush and Postman Pat, is losing its second chief executive in less than a year.

The company announced today that Nick Phillips will leave the company at the end of this week (Friday, December 5).

Mr Phillips was appointed chief executive less than a year ago, following the surprise exit of Mike Heap, the long-serving chief, in March.

A spokesman for Entertainment Rights confirmed that Mr Phillips was leaving, and said it had been "a very amicable departure".

Entertainment Rights has been struggling in recent months. It received a £1 million emergency loan in August, subsequently breaching covenants. It has issued two profit warnings this autumn.

At the end of September, shares slumped 55 per cent after it forecast that earnings for the year to February 2009 would be down by about £7 million, and by £6.5 million for 2010.

At the time, with net debt at £127 million, it said it had been forced to enter "constructive discussions" with its lending bank.

A month later, it reported an operating loss of £105 million for the eight months to August 31, caused mainly by an £83 million writedown in the value of some of its children’s characters and franchises.

The company's balance sheet continued to suffer following the purchase of Classic Media, the owner of Lassie and the Lone Ranger, for £106.9 million in 2007.

An announcement about Mr Phillips' successor is expected in the near future, but the company released no further details today.

This morning, shares fell 18.26 per cent to 0.94p.

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