Balfour Beatty closes southern business as MD departs

Balfour Beatty has parted company with its southern regional construction managing director Beth West and merged its southern operation with those in the north and midlands as part of a post-Covid reshuffle.

West, who only joined Balfour Beatty a year ago from London property developer Landsec, has previously held a number of industry leadership positions including commercial director at HS2, head of commercial procurement for the London Underground and commercial director at Tube Lines.

She joined Balfour Beatty with high expectations but, announcing her departure on LinkedIn, West said: “A year ago, I joined Balfour Beatty to lead the south business as it was on the cusp of a really exciting phase, with Heathrow expansion on the cards and other exciting opportunities in front of us. But unfortunately, Covid has changed the business materially and at the moment, it is unviable as a stand-alone business unit. Therefore, I will be leaving Balfour Beatty as of today to consider pastures new and the next big thing.” 

Last December Balfour Beatty announced that Mark Bullock, previously chief executive for rail & utilities, had taken over as chief executive of UK construction services as part of a number of changes to the company’s group executive committee. He replaced Dean Banks, who left to take on a new role in Australia.

In a statement, a Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: “Due to market conditions in the south of England, we are consolidating our Construction Services Regional South business unit into the North and Midlands business unit to form a single business unit. We remain committed to working with our customers to continue to successfully deliver our active schemes in the South of England and will continue to selectively bid projects where our expertise delivers value for our clients coupled with an appropriate risk return ratio to ensure successful outcomes for all”.