Bovis deputy chairman joins Harworth

Regeneration firm Harworth Group has appointed Alastair Lyons as its chairman, who will join the company from Bovis Homes in March next year.

Lyons will join on 7 March from his current role as deputy chairman of Bovis. He is also currently a non-executive chairman of Welsh Water, and has previously held roles as Serco’s non-executive chairman and an independent director at the Phoenix Group.

Prior to taking on these executive roles, he was the director of corporate projects at Natwest and the chief executive of the National & Provincial Building Society.

He will replace outgoing chairman Jonson Cox, who will retire from Harworth’s board on 31 March next year after seven years at the helm.

Harworth has extensive industrial and employment interest in the North West, having recently completed the next phase of Multiply, part of its Logistics North development near Bolton.

Multiply will deliver more than 560,000 sq ft at the site just off the M61 over the next 18 months, and to date, 1.5m sq ft of space has been built at Logistics North.

Lyons said: “Harworth has gone from strength to strength since it was divested from UK Coal in 2012 and continues to grow its profile after being relisted in 2015.

“I look forward to supporting the business in achieving its vision to be the leading brownfield regeneration company in the North of England and the Midlands.”

Cox added: “It has been a privilege to bring Harworth into being in 2012 from the former UK Coal plc, and to see the business perform so strongly since that time with a solid platform in place and a clear strategy for growth.   Now is the time for a new chairman to take the business forward, and it will be in good hands with Alastair. I wish the business every success in the future.”