St James's Place, the UK wealth management group controlled by HBOS, is on the hunt for a new chief executive after Mark Lund unexpectedly stepped down today after three years at the company.

St James's Place, which was founded in 1991 and floated 10 years ago, said today that it has "jointly agreed" with Lund that he will step down as chief executive immediately, adding that he is leaving the group to "seek a fresh challenge".