Support services group Interserve (IRV) is up 17.4% to 95.6p on the appointment of former Premier Farnell (PFL) chief financial officer Mark Whiteling.
Interserve has had a difficult year and recently warned that full year results were likely to be below previous forecasts, leading to a massive fall in the share price.
Investors are encouraged by the appointment of Whiteling as chief financial officer thanks to his experience at Premier Farnell, prior to its takeover by Avnet.
Whiteling played a vital role in reorganising the tech products distributor after the company struggled to meet operating margin and sales targets.
He is currently non-executive director of Hogg Robinson (HRG) and chairs the audit committee of Connect Group (CNCT).
WHY IS INTERSERVE STRUGGLING?
One of the core issues at Interserve is the construction division as the cost of exiting energy from waste contracts looks set to exceed the £160m initially expected.
Liberum's Joe Brent cut earnings per share by 27% and 18% in the year to 31 December 2017 and 2018 respectively on the profit warning.
The analyst also believes that ‘significant pension liabilities’ leave Interserve sensitive to changes in bond yields.
