Marshall Motor Holdings may look to haulage giant the Stobart Group for a new to succeed Peter Johnson.

Sky News has reported that Marshall had its sights set on Stobart chairman Iain Ferguson after he announced that he would retire from the business before its next AGM.

Ferguson’s announcement followed a narrow leadership vote in which he retained his seat with 51.2% support at last month’s annual meeting.

It was reported that Andrew Tinkler, Stobart’s former chief executive, had questioned the result of the vote as he and his supporters backed retail tycoon Philip Day for the post.

Mr Ferguson is a serial figure on public company boards, having run Tate & Lyle as its chief executive between 2003 and 2009.

The 26-year veteran of Unilever also taken directorships at companies such as Balfour Beatty, Gregg's and the support services group Berendsen.

Marshall Motor Holdings declined to comment on the progress of its search for a chairman, Sky News reported.