Currie & Brown ex-chairman lodges unfair dismissal claim

Angus McLean, the former chairman of consultant Currie & Brown, has put in a claim for unfair dismissal, it emerged this week.

The firm, which has been resisting acquisition attempts from SKM and McBains Cooper, is to contest McLean’s claim at an employment tribunal.

McLean, who could not be contacted for comment, joined Currie & Brown in July 2001, becoming chairman the following November. He left four months ago.

Euan McEwan, the chief executive of Currie & Brown, refused to be drawn on McLean’s claim, but insisted that the firm would not be sold.

McEwan added that reported interest in Currie & Brown from SKM and McBains Cooper had been based on no more than speculative approaches.

He said he was preparing a five-year growth plan and that he had simplified the share ownership structure.

The company will buy back shares owned by former Currie & Brown staff. He said: “It’s a five-year plan, but if things change I would obviously need to renew the plans. But the key message is that we are preparing for long-term growth.”

Building revealed last month that McEwan had sacked three former directors, Bill Booker, Myles Cameron and Ian McCallum, for gross misconduct after he found out they were moving to rival consultant SKM.

It is understood that the three men still own shares in Currie & Brown, although SKM and the men maintain that they are not involved in acquisition bids.

McEwan reiterated his plans to continue Currie & Brown’s core businesses, such as project management, building surveying and cost consultancy, across a range of sectors and countries. He added that work in the nuclear field would become a core business and that a new head of its nuclear division would be announced shortly.

McEwan said the firm had won a contract to provide consultancy services to the Greek government. This includes the development of a strategy to procure more than 250 projects, one of the largest PPP initiatives in Europe.

Other recent contract wins include an appointment as lead technical adviser to Newham, Westminster and Tower Hamlets councils in London, a framework agreement to work as cost consultant for the BBC and project management services for the Royal Bank of Scotland.