Kier finance director Bev Dew to step down

Shares in construction group Kier slumped on Tuesday as it announced the departure of finance director Bev Dew later this year.

Dew will leave the company by 30 September, shortly after the release of its full-year results. Kier said the search for a successor has already begun.

Chairman Philip Cox said: "Bev has been our finance director for over four years and I would like to thank him for his contribution over this time. Bev remains firmly committed to the company and will be working with the board to deliver the 2019 results."

Back in March, Kier said it swung to a pre-tax first-half loss of £35.5m from a profit of £34.3m despite a small uptick in revenue. The results came a week after the company revised its net debt position as at 31 December 2018 up to £180.5m from around £130m.

At the end of last year, Kier completed a poorly-received £264m rights issue that wiped off 40% of its share price.

At 1220 BST, the shares were down 4.9% to 345.20p.