Lastminute.com chairman Allan Leighton is leaving the one-time dotcom darling in January after four years in the job. Mr Leighton is to be replaced by fellow board member Brian Collie, who is currently a main director on the board of UK airport group BAA responsible.

He recently announced he would be leaving BAA around the end of the year "to pursue other interests".

Said Mr Leighton: "Being involved with lastminute.com for the past four years has been enormously rewarding, with the company growing sales from £34m in 2000 to forecast £1.1bn in 2004, and seeing it become a leader in its sector."

Earlier this month Lastminute.com said it was on track to meet targets for Q4, albeit at the lower end of its expected range. It also explained how it would save around £13m in the 2005 financial year to reduce costs by 10 per cent.

In August, the company announced it would close six offices in the UK, four overseas and lose 350 jobs. ®

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