Manbat Batteries has appointed Steve Sheppard, formerly its sales director, as managing director, as his predecessor Roger Pemberton becomes executive chairman.

Alan Grey has been taken on as operations director, Amanda Tomlinson as quality assurance manager, Myles Pemberton as marketing manager and Martin McGreevy as national sales manager.

Roger Pemberton said: "These management changes are the final pieces in a restructuring jigsaw designed to strengthen Manbat's management team and enable the business to continue to expand further.

“By relieving me of the day-to-day running of the business, I can concentrate on the overall strategy, while Steve will be free to address the immediate issues and allow Manbat to capture an increasing share of the UK and European battery market."