UNIVERSAL Salvage issued a profit warning last week and announced that managing director Richard Bird had left the company.

The Bedfordshire-based business, which is the largest contract car salvage operation in the UK, said profits in the year to April would not be as high as expected. The pre-tax profits forecast is down from £4.8m to £3.4m. A spokesman said this was due to factors including the cost of keeping up stringent quality thresholds, falling profits per unit, delays at insurers and the cost of starting up new contracts.