Photo-Me International has now turned to company secretary Robert Lowes to fill the void.

Poulton stepped down after pressure from the ousted CEO of the company triggered the resignation of Photo-Me’s chairman and two non-executive directors.

The company said last week: ‘Photo-Me announces that Simon Poulton, who last month was appointed as interim group FD (although not on the board) during the medical leave of absence granted to Jean-Luc Peurois, has resigned from that position.’

The interim FD’s resignation is the latest in a series of setbacks for the digital imaging giant’s finance function, but it is unclear whether he also came under pressure to leave. ‘We’re not expanding on that and nor is [Poulton],’ said a Photo-Me spokesperson.

Poulton was specifically recruited for the role because of his six years’ experience in stopgap roles after two full-time FD jobs at fully-listed companies.

Photo-Me operates around 22,000 photo booths worldwide, but the finance function has been plagued by problems. Last year, group FD Jean Luc-Peurois was forced to give up his role because of illness. Before he announced his departure, Poulton also had to deal with the fallout from a profit warning as Photo-Me conceded it would have to scale back its revenue forecasts.

His replacement Lowes has joined the Photo-Me board as an interim director and ‘interim finance officer,’ the company said.

In a bid to restore investor confidence, Lowes will now be reporting to Peurois who remains on sick leave, Photo-Me added.