Sandy Leitch is to quit director roles at Old Mutual Wealth and Intrinsic - the firm he founded - it was revealed today.

Lord Leitch has decided to step down from his positions as non-executive director of the Old Mutual Wealth Board and also as chairman of the Intrinsic Financial Services board.

He will leave at the end of March but will remain as an adviser to the Intrinsic board until June.

Gregor Stewart, who has been an independent non-executive director of Intrinsic since September 2015, will become chairman of the Intrinsic board on 1 April, subject to regulatory approval.

Lord Leitch said: “Creating and building Intrinsic from a standing start 11 years ago has been one of the proudest achievements of my life. Consequently, deciding to step down as chairman has been an enormously difficult personal decision.

“However, I depart with real confidence that Intrinsic, and Old Mutual Wealth, will continue to flourish as they both have vast potential and strong leaders.”

Andy Thompson, CEO of Intrinsic, said: “Sandy’s contribution to Intrinsic, as well as Old Mutual Wealth, has been immense.

“As a founding shareholder, director and chairman of Intrinsic, he has been pivotal to the success of our business through its start-up phase and was instrumental in the acquisition of the business by Old Mutual Wealth in July 2014.

“I would also like to congratulate Gregor and Wallace on their appointments. Gregor is an excellent choice to replace Sandy as our Chairman. As an independent non-executive director, he has provided excellent guidance and support to our business over the last 15 months. Wallace was one of the founders of Intrinsic and his continued presence on the Intrinsic board will help provide continuity as we move into the next phase of our journey.”

Mr Stewart said: “I am incredibly honoured and excited to succeed Sandy as Chairman of Intrinsic. The company’s journey, under his leadership, has been hugely impressive and I am convinced that our team, our advisers and our business can look forward to continued success in the future.”

Wallace Dobbin, who announced his retirement from full-time employment recently and has been replaced by Gill Davidson as chief risk officer, has accepted an invitation to become a non-executive director of the Intrinsic board in May, subject to regulatory approval.

Glyn Jones, independent non-executive chairman of the Old Mutual Wealth Board, said: “I would like to thank Sandy for the valuable guidance and wise leadership he has provided to Intrinsic, the Old Mutual Wealth Directors, Paul and his management team since he joined the Board in 2014.

“During this period the Old Mutual Wealth has developed into a strong, multi-channel wealth management business. I am personally grateful to Sandy for the support he has given me since I joined the Board in November.”