Fraud discovery closes one quarry and sheds 166 jobs as finance director steps down

Alfred McAlpine has confirmed a £22.9m hit after the discovery of fraud in its slate division.

Ian Grice
Ian Grice: The fraud had "overshadowed what would otherwise have been another successful year"

The company will close one quarry and shed 166 jobs in its slate business following the fraud, which has delayed publication of its results by over a month. The company also announced today that its finance director, Dominic Lavalle, will step down with immediate effect.

After the impact of the fraud, McAlpine reported a 24% drop in profit to £18.7m for the year ended 31 December 2006. Underlying profit rose by 4% to £27.0m. Turnover rose 5% to £1.1bn.

Alfred McAlpine has dismissed the managing director of its slate business, and said its operations director was “subject to the disciplinary process.” The company said it will now ask North Wales Police to investigate the fraud.

Group chief executive, Ian Grice, said the fraud had “clearly overshadowed what would otherwise have been another successful year for Alfred McAlpine.”

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