Coleman quits Bovis amid rumours of job cuts

Murray Coleman, UK chief executive at Bovis Lend Lease, has left the business to be replaced by former chief operating officer Nick Pollard.

Coleman will return to Australia, after two years with the firm, to take on a senior role at parent firm Lend Lease, writes Building magazine.

A statement from global chief executive Mark Menhinnitt to staff said: 'Nick will move to the chief executive role immediately, but Murray will remain in the UK until the end of the year to ensure that a full handover is completed.’

The news came as Contract Journal (CJ) reported that Bovis Lend Lease plans to make a wave of redundancies in response to reduced workloads, mostly at its southern division.

The contractor is thought to have launched a consultation exercise for its 2,000 staff and sources close to the company told CJ that redundancies could reach between 300 and 400. Bovis responded said that figure was ‘way off the mark’, however.

The UK South business, which is working on the £1bn London 2012 athletes' village, has been particularly hard hit by the drop in commercial work. Lend Lease is also preferred developer on the £1.5bn regeneration project for London’s Elephant & Castle, which has been beset by doubts over funding arrangements.