Jon Moulton, the founder and CEO of Alchemy Partners, has quit the firm after disagreements with managing partner Dominic Slade.

Jon Moulton, the founder and CEO of Alchemy Partners, has quit the firm after disagreements with managing partner Dominic Slade.

He had previously intended to retire at his sixtieth birthday next October, but has decided to leave early given Slade’s decision to focus on investing in the financial services industry.

In a letter to investors, Moulton casts doubts on Slade’s competence and states that Alchemy’s investment capacity has shrunk from £400 million ‘a few short years back’ to a likely £100 million today.

In recent years, Moulton had become increasingly critical of elements of the private equity industry, launching scathing and widely reported attacks on the leveraged buy-out sector.

He came to national prominence after a failed bid for car maker Rover in 2000.