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DTZ was in the business paper headlines this week after the surprise resignations of its senior management team.

Chief executive Paul Idzik, formerly of Barclays, was appointed to lead the company’s turnaround and departs after nearly three years in charge. Bob Rickert, another former Barclays executive, who was DTZ’s finance director and chief operating officer has also left.

The company has suffered uncertainty in recent months after a takeover approach from Saint George Participations, the French property company, which already owns 55% of the group. Both men are believed to have discussed their positions with the DTZ chairman Tim Melville-Ross prior to the announcement and are reported to have cited the board’s failure to request a ‘’put up or shut up’’ ruling from the takeover panel as the main reason for their resignations.

Paul Smith of Bray Fox Smith adds: “While at the helm, these two have not been able to restore the business to profit, despite many of their competitors returning large profits over the past two years. This result illustrates that property service firms should always be run by property professionals as they understand the importance of people in the commercial market”.

John Forrester, who has been with DTZ for 23 years and current head of UK and Ireland, has been appointed as its new chief executive. The new group finance director will be current chief financial officer James Thompson, who has been with the company for four years. Shares in DTZ holdings fell 3.7% following the news.