Lord Saatchi, non-executive directors resign from M&C Saatchi board amid scandal

M&C Saatchi’s board has announced the immediate resignation of non-executive directors Lord Dobbs, Sir Michael Peat and Lorna Tilbian, as well as executive director Lord Saatchi.

The departures follow on the heels of M&C Saatchi’s U.K. arm grappling with an accounting scandal that led to an adjustment of £11.6m ($15.3 million) to its results.

"We have accepted the decision of these directors to resign. We are determined to restore the operational performance and profitability of the business and are already implementing all of the recommendations set out in the PwC report we announced last week," said Jeremy Sinclair, M&C Saatchi chairman, in a statement. "We had started a process to reconstruct our board with new independent directors. This new board will have a mandate to conduct a full review of all aspects of our governance."

In addition to its accounting turbulence – which caused shares to slump more than 40 percent on the morning of December 4 – M&C Saatchi lost longstanding client NatWest at the end of November to The&Partnership.

According to an earlier report from Campaign, M&C Saatchi’s stock value plummeted last week, making it a target for a potential takeover or giving the founders the chance to take it private.

For a comprehensive look into the crisis at M&C Saatchi, click here.

Representatives from M&C Saatchi were not immediately available for comment about the board resignations beyond the above statements.