THE H&H Group has announced a new chairman after Michael Cowen stood down as chairman.

Ian Lancaster, who became a non-executive director in 2004, has been elected chairman. Married with three sons he has his own chartered accountancy firm in Carlisle, and is involved in commercial property development and farms on a part time basis.

He has three farms totalling 730 acres at Kirklinton, Scaleby and Penton in north Cumbria and has 3,000 hill Cheviot ewes and 100 Limousin cross cows.

Scottish Borders farmer Andrew Douglas, a former chairman of the agricultural committee of the Scottish Land Owners Federation, former director of Oliver & Son in Edinburgh and an active member of NSA Scotland, has also become an H&H board member.

Speaking after the annual meeting, Brian Richardson, chief executive, said: "Michael Cowen has had a very long connection with H&H and has been a very active chairman in the last two years overseeing the bringing together of H&H and John Swan and I shall miss his wise counsel and clear thinking, also his sense of humour. I look forward to working with Ian who also has a long association with the business."