Brutalful writes:
Music group Sanctuary sacks CEO over finances

LONDON (Reuters) - Sanctuary, the world's biggest independent music company, has sacked Chief Executive Andy Taylor for his handling of financial accounts, after a tumultuous year that sent its shares crashing.

"The board's decision to remove Mr. Taylor followed their conclusion that certain of the prior year adjustments made in the 2005 accounts should have been presented as a correction of fundamental errors and not as changes in accounting policy," the company said on Friday.

Taylor has been replaced by Frank Presland, CEO of
Elton John's management company Twenty-First Artists, which was acquired by London-based Sanctuary last year.

Sanctuary, whose artists also include Morrissey and recent Eurovision Song Contest winner Lordi, nearly collapsed earlier this year, with its shares trading at less than a penny.

They gained more than 7 percent on Friday, and were up 5.5 percent at 1034 GMT to 48 pence, valuing the company at about 102 million pounds ($190.6 million).

Presland, 62, has worked as a solicitor specializing in music and copyright for over 25 years and has advised acts such as the Beatles and Dusty Springfield.

He will hold the CEO post for the rest of the year, at which point the position will be reviewed, Sanctuary said.

The company said its profit and loss account for the year to September 30, 2005, might be adjusted as a result of certain exceptional items being recognized in prior years. However, it added that no adjustments were needed to its consolidated balance sheet covering the same period.

Sanctuary in February unveiled details of a deeply-discounted 110 million pound equity fundraising to help it recover from the costly acquisition of Urban Records from Matthew Knowles, the father of R&B diva Beyonce.

After a series of delayed, rescheduled and canceled releases from Urban Records, Sanctuary said earlier this year it would issue no more from the label. Knowles later announced that he and the company had parted ways.

(additional reporting by Adam Pasick and Jeffrey Goldfarb)