Keith Sayfritz, group chairman of the Greenhous Group, has announced he will stand down from his role as president of the RMIF at the end of the year.

He made the announcement at the RMIF Group board and national council meetings on Wednesday.

Having been appointed to serve as president and chairman from June 2005 to June 2006, and, following the unanimous agreement by the group board that he would serve for a further additional period in order to 'ensure continuity', he said he now feels that with the sale of ReMIT completed, the federation and its associations 'can move forward without the financial burdens faced in recent years'.

He said he will stand down in December.

RMIF chief executive Matthew Carrington paid tribute to Sayfritz's term of office: "Keith has been an inspirational president. His knowledge and passion for the industry has been of great support to the federation over the past year and a half. Under his stewardship we have made significant progress in modernising the RMIF and securing our long term financial stability. Keith can leave his role in the knowledge that he has played a significant part in shaping the future of the industry's leading trade association. We wish him well."

The RMI has yet to announce a successor.