BADEN-BADEN (dpa-AFX) - Unsurprisingly, there is another change in leadership at leasing specialist Grenke: Sebastian Hirsch, the current CFO, is moving permanently to the top of the company. CEO Michael Bücker is leaving the company permanently and will leave the group on February 28. The 61-year-old manager's appointment had been revoked in November until this date due to illness. Hirsch had previously taken over Bücker's duties as his deputy.

Grenke shares, which are listed on the SDax, fell by just under one percent in early trading on Friday morning - although the stock had also made strong gains the previous day. Since the turn of the year, the share has meanwhile gained almost 50 percent, after it had been badly hit by the pandemic and by the attack of a short seller in the previous years.

Accordingly, the change of chief executive at Grenke also entails a reorganization in the chair of the CFO: After a transition and familiarization phase, during which Hirsch will continue to additionally head the finance department, Martin Paal is to take over the chief role there, as the group announced in Baden-Baden on Thursday evening. The latter has been in charge of controlling at Grenke since 2022 and will initially act as deputy CFO. With the appointment of 41-year-old Hirsch and 43-year-old Paal, Grenke is also initiating a generational change.

For Grenke, Hirsch is the third company leader in less than two years. The former boss Antje Leminsky had resigned in the summer of 2021 in the middle of a serious crisis. In the fall of 2020, short seller Viceroy had raised serious allegations surrounding the company's business practices. A special audit by the financial supervisory authority Bafin subsequently identified organizational deficiencies. Grenke ultimately received a full audit certificate for its balance sheets, but subsequently also reorganized its investments and took over franchise companies whose role had been criticized by investors.

Leminsky's successor, Bücker, had taken the helm of the company in August 2021; he had previously been a member of the board of Bayerische Landesbank. In Thursday evening's announcement, the Grenke Supervisory Board praised Bücker's services and "his extraordinary commitment during a phase of adapting the business organization to the regulatory requirements for German and international business." The outgoing company boss had repositioned the company accordingly and led it back on a growth course, he said.

Grenke primarily offers leasing services to small and medium-sized commercial customers who prefer to lease their business equipment, such as computers, printers or restaurant furniture, instead of buying it. During the pandemic, this had caused business to slump, especially in the hospitality and tourism industries in southern Europe.

The new company leader Hirsch now faces the task of leading Grenke back to its former strength. "As the new CEO, Sebastian Hirsch will provide the continuity and strategic impetus the company needs to continue its double-digit and profitable growth," the supervisory board said. Last year, things were already much better for Grenke after the Corona slump, but rising interest rates put pressure on profit margins. In addition, Grenke is increasingly focusing on larger contracts that are less profitable. Most analysts, however, recently assessed the situation at the leasing specialist favorably and now see Grenke back on the growth path./tav/lew/stk