Rentokil Hires Royal Mail Executives to Overhaul City Link Unit

Rentokil Initial Plc, the world’s largest pest-control company, has hired two former Royal Mail executives to head up its City Link parcel-delivery unit.

David Smith, who joined the state-owned mail company almost a decade ago, will join as managing director of City Link, accompanied by Robert Peto as finance director, the London-based company said in a statement.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Brown took over the day-to-day running of City Link after ousting its management late last year. Continuing losses at City Link led Rentokil to report a 9.9 percent drop in first-quarter profit to 27.4 million pounds ($45 million).

Smith, a chartered accountant, joined Royal Mail in 2002 and has been chief customer officer for the U.K. operation since the end of 2010. Peto has served as the finance director of Parcelforce, the Royal Mail’s competing delivery service, since 2006.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Noel in London at anoel@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net