Severfield Chief Executive takes temporary leave

Severfield Chief Executive Ian Lawson has temporarily stepped down and taken a leave of absence due to physical ill health, the steelwork contractor has announced.

Acting as Executive Chairman on an interim basis, John Dodds (pictured) has agreed to take on the day-to-day running of the company.

Mr Dodds has experienced this position before as he was executive chairman for eight months in 2013 prior to Mr Lawson’s appointment.

Finance director Alan Dunsmore has agreed to assume the role of Interim Chief Executive, while Adam Semple, current Group Financial Controller, will temporarily take on the responsibilities of Finance Director.

Mr Dodds said: “I will work closely with Alan and the wider team during this time and in the meanwhile, on behalf of the board and everyone at Severfield, I would like to wish Ian a full and speedy recovery.”

In a trading update, Severfield said its order book remained robust at £267M, with performance for the year to 31 March 2017 ahead of expectations.

The company said, performance on its UK contracts continues to reflect the on-going operational improvement programme, which is delivering benefits to clients and to its own financial performance.

The UK order book remains solid at £267M and the pipeline of potential projects remains steady and consistent with its objective of doubling profits by 2020.