Trinity Mirror shares down following Sly Bailey exit

Shares in the Trinity Mirror Group have fallen today (June 15th) on the London Stock Exchange, following the surprise exit of the newspaper company's chief executive.

Sly Bailey was due to step down in six months' time, however announced this afternoon that she would be resigning from her post with immediate effect.

The boss had said she would leave at Christmas, after shareholders voiced their anger over the size of her pay packet in relation to deteriorating sales figures.

Indeed, the Trinity Mirror Group has suffered a 90 per cent fall in its share price over the past five years.

Ms Bailey's role as chief executive will be temporarily filled by the group's finance director Vijay Vaghela.

Newly-appointed chairman David Grigson stated: "The company and the board are grateful to Sly for her immense contribution and leadership over nearly ten years."

He added that her actions ensured the organisation delivered "robust profits" in spite of the economic downturn.

The group - which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record, Sunday Mail and the People, in addition to 160 local and regional newspapers - has had difficulty coping with falling circulation and the transfer of classified advertising to the web.

Following her resignation, Ms Bailey said: "It's been an absolute privilege to have led Trinity Mirror in this fascinating and all-consuming role."

In May, Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace and Sunday Mirror Tina Weaver were sacked by the organisation when it merged the two titles.

Its pension liabilities of approximately £1.7 billion far exceed its current market capitalisation of £68 million.

At 14:45 BST, Trinity Mirror was down 1.9 per cent on the London Stock Exchange, sinking its share price to 25.7p.

In the past 12 months, its highest share value reached 54.2p, while its lowest was 25.p last month.