Halma FD Kevin Thompson to retire in 2018

Safety, health and environmental technology group Halma has announced that Kevin Thompson plans to retire as group finance director next year.

The board will begin a search for his successor shortly and an announcement will be made in due course.

Once a successor has been appointed, Thompson will step down from the board and will remain with the group until an orderly handover has been completed.

Chairman Paul Walker said: "I would like to thank Kevin for the tremendous contribution he has made to Halma's success since joining the business 30 years ago. Kevin became the group finance director and member of the Halma board in 1998 and, since then, Halma has more than quadrupled its revenue and profit to become a truly global business.

"Kevin has built a strong team in all our major regions to underpin this continued growth and I appreciate his diligence and support helping the board to ensure a smooth succession over the next year or so."

At 1040 BST, the shares were up 0.5% to 1,012p.