After more than a decade and a half helping to shape the international success of one of Gloucestershire's most successful exports, Edward Davies is set to leave the business.

Chief executive of the Cheltenham firm, John Vaughan, has confirmed he and Mr Davies, its chief operating officer, have been in discussion for some time.

A statement from the company said Mr Davies "wanted to be able to spend more time with his wife and his two young children", and the decision led to a passionate tribute from Mr Vaughan to his outgoing colleague.

"On a personal level, Edward has been a great friend and has always been there as a sounding board for me and an integral member and key, cohesive contributor to the business and the CEO's leadership team," said Mr Vaughan.

"Edward, a corporate solicitor by background, has a rare mix of skills - an eye for detail and planning, a great capacity for strategy thinking, business acumen and the ability to turn his hand, including practically, to plan and deliver a wide variety of complex business projects and strategies, whilst considering angles that would evade many. The business will miss his impact."

ADEY famously rose from garden shed invention to industry success story on the back of its founder, Chris Adey's, MagnaClean magnetic filter system for boilers, on to management buyout and on-going international success.

Mr Davies was involved with its founding fathers from the very earliest days in 2003, working with them to get the business up and running, and as a trusted advisor, appointed as a non-executive director in 2010.

A detailed statement from the firm said: "Edward played a significant role helping ADEY's group CEO, John Vaughan, deliver the group MBO in 2016 which saw the founders and Kelvin Stevens retire from the business and LDC invest as the private equity backers of management to drive things to the next level.

"This event and their support have been key to the transformation of the business into the complex, international business it is today.

"Ahead of the MBO, at John Vaughan's request, Edward moved into the COO role. In that role he has continued to support the delivery of the long-term business plan and support the business through important changes in terms of how it now operates internationally and develops for future growth and success.

"He has also been central to the launch and progress in China and supported the CEO in the USA business. Most recently, he negotiated and completed the acquisition of Slough based Alpha Scientific, which keys with a main growth strategy of the Adey Group.

"Following his non-exec appointment in 2010, Edward continued to be involved in many key decisions and their execution.

"Many of these have led the business to where it is today - the appointment of Kelvin Stevens, then John Vaughan to the managing director role, Dean Brown as CFO, Dr Neil Watson (chief technical officer), Matthieu Giraudon (European director), Kosta Papadopoulos (European regional sales director), setting up the structures and admin for the French and USA companies, the MBO backed by LDC in June 2016 and the subsequent recruitment of James Parkinson (as chief marketing officer), Matt Webber (as sales director) and others.

"He played a central role in the development of the 2016/18 business plan and the current plan through which the 2016 plan strategies still run. The list and his legacy is long.

"In 2015, Kelvin Stevens and ADEY's founders appointed Edward to the position of Chairman of the Group and whilst this was for a relatively short period he continued to play a major role in the progress of the business."

Mr Vaughan added: "Throughout his time in the group, what has always driven Edward is a deep passion to do the best thing for the business, to say and do whatever is needed to ensure that it grows sustainably for the benefit of all involved with the Group. He has loved working with great people and seeing them develop and grow."

Prior to ADEY Mr Davies was also a senior partner at Cheltenham-based Rickerbys law firm - now part of Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

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