(Reuters) - Domino's Pizza Group Plc has begun search for successors to replace its three top board members, including its chairman and chief executive officer, Britain's biggest pizza delivery firm's annual report showed.
The company, a franchise of U.S. company Domino's Pizza Inc, has begun succession planning for its Chief Executive Officer David Wild, Chairman Stephen Hemsley and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director Helen Keays, it said in its annual report that was released last week.
The changes follow the Financial Reporting Council's revised corporate code requiring public companies to explain if a board chair has remained unchanged for more than nine years.
Sky News reported earlier on Tuesday that the executives preparing to step down amid a deepening row with franchisees which has hurt the company's share price.
Domino's has also seen its profit dented by a slowdown in overseas markets. However, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the planned changes were as part of "good governance".
"Whilst we acknowledge the Code's provisions, the timing and sequencing of these Board changes must be appropriate for the business, and the Committee is currently formulating its plans," Hemsley said in a statement as part of the report.
The new rules announced in January had prompted the departure of tobacco company Imperial Brands's non-executive Chairman Mark Williamson in February.
Domino's meanwhile has extended Hemsley's appointment as chairman by a year to facilitate orderly succession planning.
Domino's shares were 6.4 percent higher at 241.8 pence at 1529 GMT.