Charlie Muirhead, one of Britain's youngest technology entrepreneurs, has stepped down as chief executive of Nexagent, his telecommunications software venture, to hand the reins to a more seasoned manager.

The 27-year-old businessman, who will remain as president, will be replaced by Royce Murphy, nearly 20 years his senior with 25 years' experience of start-ups and listed companies.
Mr Muirhead said recruiting experienced managers for his new business had become a priority after the troubles he encountered at his earlier venture, Orchestream, the lossmaking software provider he set up at the age of 21 after dropping out of university. It discovered irregularities in its accounts last summer.

Mr Muirhead said: "In this climate, we have all learnt lessons. One of them is having experienced people in place." Mr Murphy worked at Hewlett-Packard and Eastman Software before becoming senior vice-president of FileNET, a California-based internet content management software provider.

Orchestream, a cash-strapped London-listed company that succumbed to the telecoms melt-down, is about to be acquired by MetaSolv, a US rival, for 6p a share, or £7.9m. Orchestream was worth nearly £1bn at the height of the technology boom. MetaSolv yesterday announced its offer unconditional after receiving acceptances representing 74.2 per cent of the shares.

Mr Muirhead will continue to sit on Orchestream's board as a non-executive director until the sale is completed.
The serial entrepreneur surprised many in the City by raising £13.1m for Nexagent in spite of his close association with Orchestream.

Nexagent plans to raise £12.5m-£15m from new and existing shareholders. It makes software that enables telecom operators to share networks, while Orchestream develops software that helps operators maximise the performance of their networks.

Mr Murphy said Nexagent had secured a partnership with a large systems integrator through which it planned to license its technology. He is hoping the business would make its first sales in the current half-year to June and start generating profits in 2005.