McCarthy & Stone PLC (LON:MCS) has said its chief operating officer John Tonkiss will assume the role of interim CEO from 1 September 2018 following news on 18 June 2018 that Clive Fenton will be retiring as CEO on 31 August 2018.
The FTSE 250-listed retirement homes builder confirmed that it is conducting a formal search process to appoint a replacement CEO.
READ: McCarthy & Stone's chief executive, Clive Fenton, off to his retirement home after profit warning
The group said it will be considering both internal and external candidates for the role during the process.
In the meantime, it added, Paul Lester, chairman of the group, will be spending more time with the business helping the executive team to develop its new strategy.
McCarthy & Stone added that Tonkiss will remain in his new role until the search process has been concluded and a replacement CEO is in post.
News of Fenton’s retirement last week accompanied a warning from the group that it has seen a slackening off of reservation rates in the second quarter of 2018 which saw its share price drop by around 15%.
The company said it now expects to complete between 2,100 to 2,300 homes in 2018, compared to 2,302 legal completions in 2017.
It said operating profit in 2018 is expected to fall to somewhere between £65mln and £80mln from £96mln in 2017 with the profit impact of the unit shortfall skewed to the South, where the group’s average selling prices are higher.