Severfield chief executive Alan Dunsmore is to step down, the firm announced today, less than a month after the firm issued a profit warning.
The UK’s largest steel contractor said that Dunsmore would leave the firm by mutual consent with the board after 15 years at the end of June.
On 3 March, Severfield issued a profit warning, blaming a delayed “large project” and hits to client confidence.
Severfield chairman Charlie Cornish said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Alan for his commitment to Severfield over the past 15 years and for the past seven years of dedicated leadership as CEO. Alan has been pivotal in shaping our purpose, strategy and values, driving growth both organically and through acquisitions.”
Dunsmore said: “It has been a privilege to spend 15 years of my career at Severfield and to have led the development of the business in the UK, Europe and India. Now is an appropriate time to hand over to a new CEO to build on Severfield’s unique strengths and accelerate the growth of the business.”
The board has begun a search process to find his successor.
In the meantime, Cornish will support and guide the interim executive team led by Rob Evans, the divisional managing director of Severfield’s largest division, Commercial & Industrial, and chief financial officer Adam Semple.
In the trading update published on 3 March, the firm said the UK’s market conditions had “shown no signs of improvement” in recent months, as pricing remained tight and project opportunities had been “cancelled or delayed”.
It cited an unnamed “large project” that was meant to start in January but had now been delayed to the start of Severfield’s next financial year, beginning on 30 March 2026.
A spokesperson for Severfield declined to provide further comment on the specific contract.
Severfield said it expected to post an underlying pre-tax profit of between £18m and £20m in the year to 29 March, below its expectations.
In Construction News’ latest survey of executive pay, Dunsmore was listed as the 15th highest paid boss in the sector in 2023, with a total package of £1.2m.