Paperlinx chief executive David Allen will take on Carr’s role in the interim, with Carr’s direct reports – commercial print managing director Andy Buxton, packaging managing director Marc Jacobs and VTS managing director Frank Moran – now reporting to him.

"We made the change at the request of the board. It was part of the ongoing management change of the business worldwide, where we are constantly looking at our structure and costs and how we can move the business forward," said Allen.

Prior to being promoted to UK managing director in December last year, after Allen’s interim appointment as chief executive was made permanent, Carr had held a number of senior finance positions across Paperlinx’s operating businesses and is understood to have joined the company more than 10 years ago.

Carr resigned as a director of Paperlinx at Companies House on 5 July.

"Phil had done lots of good work on the restructuring and refinancing of the business, all of our cost reductions ran to plan [for example]," said Allen.

"But at the end of the day we need to constantly review people’s roles and the costs of the organisation and it was a change the board wanted, and I was willing to take on that additional role temporarily. The board asked me to take on the UK business and as a consequence Phil has left his position."

Allen stressed that Carr had not been made redundant and while the company’s restructure was an ongoing process, there are no other planned management changes at this time.

Carr is now understood to be on a period of ‘gardening leave’ and was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

Allen said that Paperlinx would be looking to appoint a new UK managing director in the long term, although he said recruitment would not begin until the autumn at the earliest.

He added that there wasn’t "one single factor" behind Carr’s departure.

"It’s about having the right management at the right time; there is no criticism of Phil at all. He was a finance specialist and handled the restructuring and refinancing and did that very well. It’s now time to look at what sort of management we need next."