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Hargreaves Services PLC, a provider of transport and support services to the energy and waste sectors, also announced the appointment of Iain Cockburn as finance director with effect from 1 January 2008.

Chairman Tim Ross said, "Peter played a key role in the flotation and subsequent development of the Group since his arrival in 2003 and has been central to the flotation and subsequent growth of the business. His retirement was signalled in the 2007 Annual Report and we wish him well for the future."

Cockburn, 42, is a Chartered Accountant. After five years with Price Waterhouse in the UK and Luxembourg he held a number of finance roles, in both the UK and USA, within Courtaulds PLC and GenRad Inc groups.

Prior to joining Hargreaves he was finance director and subsequently CEO and finance director of Knowledge Support Systems PLC ("KSS").

In October 2006, in addition to his executive role at KSS, he joined the board of Tadpole Technology PLC as a non-executive, to assist with its strategic review. The company said that he had resigned all of his appointments to join Hargreaves.

Hargreaves (LSE:HSP) reported group turnover including share of joint ventures for the year ended 31 May 2007 up 71 per cent to £265.3 million, compared to £155 million in 2006. Growth was both organic and through acquisitions.

Total operating profit was up 44 per cent to £10.4 million, up from £7.2 million in 2006. Profit before tax rose by 56 per cent to £8.6 million, from £5.5 million in 2006.

On 4 December 2007 the group confirmed that group profit for the six months to 30 November 2007 would be in line with expectations.

“The forward order book across the Group remains strong and the Board remain confident that the Group is on target to achieve its growth and profit targets,” according to Hargreaves.

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