Bovis Homes chief executive David Ritchie steps down

9th Jan 2017 07:38

(ShareCast News) - FTSE 250 housebuilder Bovis Homes said on Monday that its chief executive, David Ritchie, will step down from the company with immediate effect but will stay on until February to help with the transition process.Bovis, which posted three profit warnings under Ritchie's watch, has appointed the group's finance director, Earl Sibley, as interim chief executive with immediate effect and will immediately initiate a process to appoint a permanent successor, which is expected to take several months.Ritchie said: "It has been a privilege to serve Bovis Homes as its chief executive over the last eight years as the group has doubled in size and delivered record profits. I believe now is the right time for someone new to lead the group into its next phase of development. I have spent over 18 years working for this great company and I wish Bovis Homes every success in the future."Chairman Ian Tyler said: "On behalf of the company, I would like to thank David for his major contribution to Bovis Homes over his 14 years on the board initially as group finance director, then group managing director and as chief Executive since 2008."During his time as chief executive, the group successfully navigated the housing market recession and has grown rapidly since 2009. David was instrumental in preparing the group for growth and then implementing the new strategy. We wish David the very best for the future and every success in his next venture."Analyst Robin Hardy at Shore Capital said that Ritchie's exit "comes as no great surprise" given three profit warnings "driven by poor execution in a period when other house builders were reporting unerringly positive trading"."We have long been concerned that there was something structurally wrong at Bovis and that for reasons that were not wholly clear from the outside, Bovis was struggling to keep hold of key resources necessary to execute its growth plans. It has long been suspected that there were cultural issues that ran right to the top of the organisation and that the business was less able to function freely and take best advantage of market conditions because of too much control."Hardy said he felt the "deep set" problems at Bovis are unlikely to improve significantly and highlighted Redrow or Crest Nicholson as "better prospects" in the midcap housebuilding space.