The finance director of north-east building firm Stewart Milne has joined rival Bancon Group as its new boss.
John Irvine is set to become the Group Chief Executive of the Banchory-based house-builder and construction firm in January.
Mr Irvine will take the helm of the firm, which comprises house-building, commercial construction, developments and timber frame manufacturing, with the aim of growing its £79million turnover.
He will replace Bill Beattie, 56, who is thought to have left the business.
The company, whose founding directors include members of the Burnett of Leys family, is smaller than Stewart Milne which enjoys a current annual turnover of around £211million with over 800 employees.
The move comes after Stewart Milne, who founded the well known north-east firm, handed the reins over to his managing director, Glenn Allison. Mr Allison became chief executive of Stewart Milne in August.
The move by Mr Irvine to a rival developer was described as “friendly” and Mr Allison wished his soon-to-be former colleague well. Mr Irvine joined the region’s largest independent house builder in 2001, taking over Mr Allison’s role as finance director when he was promoted as managing director.
He said: “After 14 years with Stewart Milne Group, John Irvine, Group Finance Director, is moving on at the end of January to take on a role as CEO. He has been a great asset to our business and a valued member of our senior management team. We wish him the very best in his new role.
“We are now in the process of selecting a new Group Finance Director and already have some exceptional internal and external candidates to consider.”
Bob Hutcheson, Group Chairman of Bancon Group, said: “John brings highly relevant experience coupled with a strong commercial background that will be hugely beneficial to Bancon.
“He will play a significant role in our development plans as we pursue our group-wide growth strategy in the coming years. We currently have 10 sites for which re-zoning and planning consent has been secured and we are confident of long-term, sustainable growth in all of our business areas.”
Mr Irvine added: “I am excited to join the team at Bancon Group and look forward to developing and implementing a successful strategy to see the group achieve its growth potential and realise its plans to develop its strong market presence across each of its businesses”