Coats Viyella, Britain's biggest textile group, yesterday announced the surprise resignation of Neville Bain, chief executive for more than six years, alongside news of a big slump in profits for 1996. Mr Bain, a New Zealander, is to be replaced by Michael Ost, who earlier this year left McKechnie, the plastics to engineering group, after 10 years as chief executive.

The dive in profits from pounds 163m to pounds 94.4m had been foreshadowed in a trading warning last November and Sir David Alliance, Coats' veteran chairman, said there had been no institutional pressure for Mr Bain's departure. "After six and a half years with the group, he would like to pursue other interests as a non-executive director, in education and to take a leaf out of my book in doing things which fulfil his heart as well as his pocket."

Mr Bain, who will hand over to Mr Ost in May, said he intended to spend around two- thirds of his time furthering his interest in corporate governance in what he hoped would be several non-executive directorships. He would be devoting the rest of his time to educational interests which include Co-operation Ireland, a Northern Irish charity

Investment Column, page 22