Simon Nixon, the founder of Moneysupermarket.com, is taking a back seat less than two years since he floated the financial services website and collected £102 million in the process.

From next March, Nixon, the university dropout turned multi-millionaire, will become executive deputy chairman and plans to work just one day a week for the business, where he remains the majority shareholder with a 54% stake worth £271 million.

"It's totally my decision," said Nixon, 41. "You know when it's time to let your baby go. I've been doing Moneysupermarket for nine years now and most chief executives only hang around for three years on average. I want to get back to the start-up situation again."

Gerald Corbett, the company's chairman, denied there had been any pressure from institutional shareholders to move Nixon on. Moneysupermarket floated at 170p a share in July 2007, but its price has gradually slid to today's 47½p as consumer lending has become progressively tighter.

"The team Simon had built up wasn't the right team to take the business forward," said Corbett.

"It is still a growth business but it's a more mature business and that requires a different skill set."

Porsche-driving Nixon will be replaced by Peter Plumb who joined the group last month but has been a consultant to it for several months. He is the former managing director of dunnhumby, the company behind the hugely succesful Tesco Clubcard.

The board is also being beefed up with new executives coming in from TUI Travel and easyJet.

"I want to have my cake and eat it," said Nixon, declining to reveal what his next venture might be.

He said he intends to remain a long-term shareholder in Moneysupermarket: "I've no regrets about floating the business and certainly wouldn't think about selling out at these share price levels. Ultimately, I want a portfolio of businesses that I've built up." He also denied that the credit crunch had any effect on his decision to step back. "There's zero relationship between my decision and what's happened in the financial markets.

"In fact our visitor numbers are up by 25% and our financials will be in line with market expectations and not down on last year's at all."