Sir Alan Sugar, the multi-millionaire star of The Apprentice TV series, has stepped down as chairman of Amstrad, the company he founded aged just 21.

Sir Alan insists he is not retiring but that it was the “right time” for him to step down from his role at the company, which he sold to broadcaster BSkyB for £125 million last year.

The 61-year-old will now spend his time focusing on his other business interests, which include an extensive property portfolio and a private jet charter company.

He founded Amstrad, which stands for Alan Michael Sugar Trading, in 1968 and started selling stereos before later moving into personal computers. The company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1980 but struggled to compete with larger PC manufacturers.

More recently Amstrad has focused on making set-top boxes for satellite TV, which led to the company being bought by the group behind Sky, in a deal which landed Mr Sugar around £34.5 million.

Sir Alan, who famously left school at the age of 16, was ranked 92nd on this year’s Sunday Times rich list, with a net worth of more than £800 million, mostly from his property portfolio.

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