It came as little surprise after weeks of speculation but David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, left the organisation officially on Friday.

A message from the organisation – sent out at 5pm – said simply: “The Board of Propertymark would like to thank David for his significant contribution in his time to the development of ARLA Propertymark, and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

It was believed that Cox – who joined ARLA back in 2014 – had been told he could not apply for the new role of head of the joint NAEA/ARLA Propertymark organisation when Mark Hayward, the chief executive of the NAEA, retires later this year.

Cox rose to prominence in ARLA after being a senior figure at the National Landlords Association.

Many in the industry regarded Cox as a straight talking and authoritative advocate for the rental sector, and less ‘old school’ than many long standing figures in Propertymark.