(Alliance News) - Shares in Countryside Properties PLC plunged on Thursday after the company announced the immediate departure of Chief Executive Officer Iain McPherson and said first quarter trading was below management expectations.
Shares in the Brentwood, Essex-based housebuilder were 25% lower at 308.00 pence on Thursday morning in London.
The Countryside CEO is departing by mutual agreement, the company said, after two years in the role since 2019. McPherson has been part of the company for eight years since 2014, starting as managing director for the Southern Housebuilding business.
Countryside has started a process to find a permanent replacement for McPherson, and Chair John Martin will stand in an interim CEO while the search is ongoing.
"Iain McPherson has led Countryside through a challenging period, including the Covid pandemic and has clarified the group's strategy, which is to focus all of our resources on our market-leading Partnerships business. I would like to thank Iain for his unwavering commitment and dedication to Countryside as leader of our business in the South and subsequently as group CEO and to wish him every success in the future," Martin said.
Also on Thursday, Countryside said that its performance for the first quarter of its current financial year was short of management expectations.
For the three months that ended December 31, Countryside's adjusted operating profit fell 55% to GBP16.5 million from GBP36.6 million the same period a year before, on adjusted revenue that declined 31% to GBP249.8 million from GBP363.8 million.
Looking ahead, the company will conduct a review of each development in every region to ensure that site is being developed in line with the plans set out during the investment process.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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