Kier Group boss leaves struggling outsourcer ‘with immediate effect’
Kier Group’s boss has left the business with immediate effect, the struggling construction company said today.
Chief executive Haydn Mursell will also stand down from the board of directors as it searches for his successor.
Read more: Kier operations director leaves firm for Grenfell cladding company
Chairman Philip Cox will act as executive chairman and work closely with the finance director and COO to oversee operations until a new boss is found.
The news comes after Kier issued a share issue that was met with little enthusiasm in December, with investors taking up just 38 per cent of the new shares as banks struggled to offload the rest.
The botched issue sent Kier’s shares plummeting as investors fear another Carillion collapse a year after the outsourcer fell to its knees.
"The board believes that, following the completion of the recent rights issue, now is the right time for a new leader to take Kier forward to the next stage of its development,” Cox said.
“The board would like to thank Haydn for his contribution during eight years on the Board, firstly as finance director and then as chief executive. On behalf of the Board, I would like to wish him every success in the future.”
It comes as Kier said it remains on track to meet full year expectations in a trading update today.
The outsourcer managed to make a dent in its debt pile, bringing average monthly debt down to £370m for the six months through to the end of 2018, down from £410m in the first half of the year. Net debt was also down to £130m, from £239m at the end of 2017.
Read more: Kier Group's lenders face headache after rights issue flounders
Kier pointed to key contract wins such as £500m in regional building contracts in November and December, including a major King’s Cross office development for Argent, and gaining lots on the North West Construction Hub’s three-year £1.5bn framework.
However, the building firm said it expects earnings and cash flow to be flat in the full financial year as the costs of implementing a turnaround programme outweighed savings by £10m.