British builder Kier's top boss to step down (updated)

Carillion

22/01/2019 07:35

(Adds chairman quote, background, details)
    Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kier Group  KIE.L  Chief Executive Haydn
Mursell is leaving the British builder with immediate effect, a
month after a lacklustre share issue by the company highlighted
tough times for the construction sector.
    Kier, which has contracts for major construction projects in
Britain, including London's Crossrail link, said Chairman Philip
Cox would act as executive chairman until a new top boss was
appointed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSV6991Na  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YP2UM
    "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 in a statement.
    Investors took up just 38 percent of Kier's share issue in
December, leaving banks on the deal scrambling to offload the
rest.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1YP2UM
    Other outsourcing companies have also showed signs of
strain. Interserve  IRV.L  shares fell sharply last month after
the support services group started rescue talks in a bid to
avoid a Carillion-style collapse.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1PA0QA
    Carillion collapsed early last year when its banks pulled
the plug, triggering one of Britain's biggest corporate failures
in a decade and adding to uncertainty about the future of a
sector that has tended to chase large contracts on slim margins.
    Kier said it had started the search for an external
successor to Mursell.
    The company also said it would meet its expectations for the
financial year ending June 30, with results being weighted
towards the second half of the financial year.

 (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru
Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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