(Reuters) - British lender Aldermore Group Plc (>> Aldermore Group PLC) said its non-executive chairman, Glyn Jones, had decided to step down to focus on chairing Old Mutual's (>> Old Mutual plc) wealth arm as its Anglo-South African financial services parent gears up to spin off the unit.

* Aldermore, which lends to small and medium-sizedbusinesses (SMEs), homeowners and landlords, said Jones haddecided to step down following a review of his time commitmentsand that it had commenced the process of finding a new chairman. * However, if a replacement was not found by Jones'departure date of Feb. 6, Senior Independent Director DanutaGray would take up the role on an interim basis, the bank said. * Aldermore was one of the banks to list in London with theaim of challenging Britain's "Big 5" lenders. Jones, who joinedAldermore in March 2014 has led the company through its listingon the London market in March 2015. * Old Mutual, which is planning to break itself up into itsfour main businesses by end-2018, is considering listing UKasset management unit, Old Mutual Wealth, but is also open toselling the business. * Old Mutual Wealth posted a sharp drop in third-quarterclient inflows October and said markets would remain difficultfollowing Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

Stocks treated in this article : Old Mutual plc, Aldermore Group PLC