Earlier start date for new Carillion boss

Andrew Davies was to have come in with effect from April 2, but the board said it had now been agreed that he will assume his appointment on January 22.

He will also join the board on that date and Keith Cochrane will step down from his role as interim chief executive and from the board, but will remain with Carillion in an advisory capacity for a period to ensure an orderly transition.

The group, which employs around 400 in the city and 43,000 worldwide, has issued a string of profits warnings.

Mr Davies has been the chief executive of Wates Group since 2014 and previously worked in senior roles with BAE Systems over 28 years. He is also a non-executive director at Chemring.

Carillion chairman Philip Green said: "We are very grateful to the board of Wates, and to James Wates CBE, their chairman, for their facilitation of Andrew's earlier appointment.

"It is a demonstration of how the sector is willing to co-operate and collaborate to ensure the long-term sustainability of UK industry.

"As I said when we announced his appointment, Andrew has the ideal combination of commerciality, operational expertise and relevant sector experience to build on the conclusions of the strategic review and to lead the on-going transformation of the business, and I look forward to his bringing that experience and expertise to Carillion in the bew year.”

In November, the HS2 contractor issued its latest profit warning and said it will breach its debt covenants, which resulted in another share price collapse.

The firm said at the time that annual profits are set to be "materially lower than current market expectations" as it grapples with a string of delays and smaller-than-expected improvements to margins on certain contracts.

Despite efforts to drive down costs, haul in cash and push through disposals, the group said it would fail to hit its net debt to earnings ratio of 1 to 1.5 times by the end of 2018.

It came after the firm posted half-year losses of £1.15 billion.