Ray Payne, former managing director of Champneys Health Resorts, has joined spa consultancy and management company, Topaz.

Payne, who spent 12 years at the helm of Champneys, has been tasked with leading a new division for the company, Topaz Management Services (TMS).

TMS will focus exclusively on the hospitality, spa and wellness sectors to offer a contractual management service along with management and marketing consultancy services.

Payne said his decision to leave Champneys came as he felt it was time to "offer his experience and expertise to other businesses in the industry".

"I had originally planned to set up on my own as a consultant," said Payne. "But seeing the diverse range of business activities that Topaz is involved with, I decided to approach them with the idea of creating a dedicated arm of the business which would focus on providing management services to the hospitality sector."

Andrew Hammond, founder and director of Topaz Consulting, said: "We were as surprised as everyone else in the spa industry when Ray announced his resignation from Champneys.

"People of his calibre are few and far between so when he approached us recently to discuss some ideas on how to develop our own services we were only too happy to listen."

Payne was replaced at Champneys by Alex De Carvalho, whose experience includes 20 years spent with Hilton Hotels and IHG in senior leadership roles in London, the US and Europe.