Shares in the AA slumped after the roadside recovery company said it had fired Bob Mackenzie, its executive chairman, for gross misconduct.
The AA gave no details about the reasons for his departure, but a spokesperson said it was a “personal conduct matter”.
Shares in the FTSE 250 company fell as much as 18 per cent, wiping up to £290 million off its stock market value, before closing 13.5 per cent lower at 210p.
Alongside the announcement of Mr Mackenzie’s removal “with immediate effect”, the company issued a trading update in which it said it expected its full-year performance to be flat.
It said the first six months had been robust, but its financial performance had been negatively affected by “erratic work load patterns” and costs relating to a profit sharing arrangement with a third party.
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Mr Mackenzie, 65, had been the AA’s executive chairman since June 2014, when he led a management buy-in and subsequent £1.4 billion stock market listing.
The AA said he would be replaced by John Leach, a non-executive director, and that Simon Breakwell, a founder of the Expedia travel website and former European boss of Uber.com, would be acting chief executive. Mr Breakwell has been a non-executive at the AA since 2014.
The listing led by Mr Mackenzie was backed by leading investors including Legal & General, Blackrock and Aviva. His arrival was quickly followed by the departure of the previous chief executive, Chris Jansen.
The role of executive chairman is generally frowned on in the City and in its statement yesterday, the AA said it had already begun the process of splitting the combined role.
Mr Mackenzie’s previously roles included chief executive at National Car Parks, which then owned AA’s rival Green Flag, chairman of the van hire group Northgate and chief executive of Sea Containers.