Johnson Service Group, the drycleaning, corporate wear and facilities management business, today ousted its chief executive after just eight months and was forced to agree temporary banking facilities which grants its lenders security over all the company’s assets.

Johnson, which owns the chain of eponymous drycleaners and Jeeves, the London cleaning business, also warned that profits for next year would fall below expectations because of extra restructuring costs and higher interest charges. Earlier this month, the company scrapped its dividend for the six months to June 30.

The company said that Charles Skinner, chief executive since April, had left because “a different set of skills are required in the company’s current situation”. Mr Skinner had joined Johnson - a company whose origins stretch back to the 1780s - from Brandon Hire where he had been chief executive for nine years. He has been temporarily replaced by John Talbot, a senior partner at Kroll Talbot Hughes, a restructuring advisory business.

Johnson has been attempting a major restructuring for much of this year and has been trying to sell its non-core specialist businesses - Workplace Engineering; Stalbridge Linen Services; and Alex Reid. However, in November it said that trading in those businesses had been so disappointing that it had deterred buyers willing to pay an adequate price. Johnson now has until the end of April to negotiate longer term banking arrangements.

Over the past two and a half years the share price has slumped from a high of 471p to 42p at the close today, after losing 2p.

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