(Reuters) - Vodka maker Stock Spirits Group Plc (>> Stock Spirits Group PLC) removed its chief executive of seven years, bowing to pressure from its largest individual shareholder.

Western Gate Private Investments, which owns 9.7 percent of Stock Spirits, earlier this month called for the ouster of CEO Chris Heath and said the company needed "fresh perspectives" to tackle a decline in its key Polish business.

Chairman David Maloney said the board had been discussing executive succession plans for several months. "But Western Gate's actions clearly interrupted our careful planning and so we decided to accelerate the CEO process," Maloney said.

Heath, who joined Stock Spirits in 2007 as chief financial officer and took over as CEO in 2009, oversaw Stock Spirits' listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2013.

But the company's share price has fallen by a third since then as the distiller lost market share in Poland - its largest operation - due to increased competition, weak demand and the devaluation of the Polish currency.

Numis Securities analyst Wyn Ellis said he wasn't surprised by Heath's departure, given the company's recent financial performance.

"The statement is quite clear that David Maloney conducted a full strategic review and it does look as if, as part of that, he decided that there is a need for change at the top," Ellis told Reuters.

Stock Spirits appointed Miroslaw 'Mirek' Stachowicz, an independent non-executive board member, as interim CEO.

Stachowicz is also on the board of Polish footwear retailer CCC S.A. (>> CCC SA) and is a non-executive vice chairman at Polish cosmetics company Harper Hygienics (>> Harper Hygienics SA).

Western Gate welcomed Heath's retirement, saying it believes "a different skill-set is necessary to turnaround the Polish business".

Western Gate is the private family office of Portuguese businessman Luis Amaral, who is also the CEO of Eurocash (>> Eurocash SA), Stock Spirits' biggest customer in Poland.

Templeton Emerging Markets Group, which controls 4.2 percent of the company, has supported Western Gate's proposals.

Stock Spirits on Friday appointed Marek Sypek as managing director of its Polish operations following Western Gate's claims that the company was operating its Polish business by "remote control".

The company's shares recovered from a 4 percent drop and were up 0.9 percent at 154.75 pence at 1130 GMT in thin volumes on the London Stock Exchange. The broader market <.FTSE> was down 0.14 percent.

(Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

By Aastha Agnihotri