This follows a competitive tender process for its statutory audit contract, overseen by the audit committee which will see the termination of Deloitte’s current audit engagement, which has been in place since 2008.

Current external auditor Deloitte will continue in its role and will undertake the audit of the group and company for the financial year ending 30 September 2017.

The annual audit was worth £500,000 in fees in 2016, with nominal non-audit fees of £13,000 in 2016.

The appointment of PwC will be recommended to Diploma's shareholders for approval at the 2018 annual general meeting on 17 January 2018.

Anne Thorburn, chair of the audit committee during the tender process, said: ‘We would like to thank Deloitte for its significant contribution to the company and the work it has carried out to provide assurance to the company's board and shareholders during its time as the company's auditor.

‘The committee has conducted detailed diligence as part of a thorough audit tender process to ensure that our principal criteria of capability, audit quality and cultural fit were met.’

In Diploma's annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 September 2016, the audit committee disclosed that it had commenced a pre-selection process with a number of audit firms in preparation for an audit tender in 2017, with the intention to recommend and appoint a new auditor at the 2018 AGM.

It noted that the UK and EU law now requires an auditor's maximum period as auditor to a listed company to be maximum 20 years, with a competitive tender process required at least once every 10 years.

Report by Sara White