PLANT-hire group Hewden Stuart announced significant progress in disposing of non-core activities at its annual meeting yesterday and a boardroom pruning which will see the rest of its old guard leave.

Glasgow-based Hewden told shareholders that agreement had been reached earlier in the day to sell the company's merchandising operations, which chairman Sandy Findlay said represented nearly three-quarters of activities deemed non-core. These sell JCB machines, producing high turnover but low margins.

Findlay said after the meeting that Hewden was selling the merchandising operations to construction equipment manufacturer JCB for about #11m - which equated approximately to their book value.

He said there would be no job losses among the 385 staff in these businesses.

Although the merchandising operations had a turnover of #88m in Hewden's last financial year to January 31, they made operating profits of only #1.29m. Findlay said their sale would be completed in the next few days.

The chairman, who was reduced to tears as he came towards the end of his last annual meeting as chairman, had earlier told shareholders that the disposal of Hewden's contracting and quarrying businesses ''will follow in the coming months''.

Findlay, who will be succeeded as non-executive chairman by British Energy chairman John Robb on December 31, said overall results in the first three months of the current financial year were ''ahead of last year and up to expectations''.

Hewden shares added 2.5p yesterday, ending at a closing high of 209p.

Ronald Stuart, a co-founder of Hewden Stuart in 1968 who went part-time four years ago, announced his retirement from the board yesterday. News of the impending retiral in February of 61-year-old executive director Ray Hughes also caught some shareholders, including retired co-founder Sir Matthew Goodwin, by surprise.

Hughes, who like Findlay joined Hewden Stuart the year after it was founded, is responsible for group purchasing and environmental matters.

It was also announced that Robert McNeil, who joined

Hewden's board as a non-executive director in 1994, would be leaving to ''pursue other interests''.

Sir Matthew, who retired as chairman three years ago, told the meeting he believed the retirals should have been notified in the annual report because many more people would have attended to say farewell.

But Findlay said afterwards that the annual report had stated that Hughes' contract expired in

February next year.

By the beginning of next year, Hewden Stuart's board will have been transformed.

Chief executive Alistair Napier, who joined Hewden Stuart in March last year after a career in the packaging industry, has already made his presence felt.

Asked about his vision for Hewden Stuart, Robb, who joined the company's board at the end of April, said: ''I have to understand what we have got first before I start talking about changes.

''We don't want to let the grass grow under our feet but we can take our time in terms of understanding the business, so any strategic decisions that are made are definitely the right ones.''