Balfour Beatty said on Tuesday its chief executive Andrew McNaughton had quit as it warned that 2014 pre-tax profits would be significantly lower than previous expectations.

The company said the weakness came from its British construction business, where it now expects a £30 million shortfall in 2014.

As a result, overall pre-tax profits for 2014 are seen in the range of £145 million to £160 million.

Balfour said in March that it expected to “make modest progress in 2014”, having posted underlying pretax profit of £187 million in 2013.

Balfour, which operates in over 80 countries, said it had conducted a strategic review and was looking into the possible sale of its Parsons Brinckerhoff business.

“Today’s trading update is once again disappointing, said Steve Marshall, who will run the business as executive chairman until a successor is found.

“The board is committed to rapidly addressing the root causes. As a result, action is being taken to improve operational delivery in the UK construction business.”

The group said its professional services, support services and investments division continued to perform well and were in line with management expectations.

Reuters