Endemol man fills gap at Mecom

European newspaper group Mecom has found a chief executive to replace David Montgomery by raiding Big Brother TV firm Endemol.

Tom Toumazis, chief commercial officer of Endemol, starts at Mecom in August. He has previously worked for Disney and Emap.

Mecom publishes papers in Holland, Denmark, Norway and Poland. Its shares, still down more than 90% from their 2008 peak, rose 3p to 266.5p. The departure of Montgomery, former boss of Mirror newspapers, was announced in September. Montgomery, who fell out with key shareholders, collected €2.7 million (£2.35 million), including a €1.5 million exit package, when he quit.

Mecom went on an acquisition spree in the boom years but has struggled with net debt of €306.8 million. The group remains upbeat about local papers despite falling revenues.

Its group-discount website Sweet Deal, a rival to Groupon, has grown quickly.