Barratt chair to vacate role ahead of schedule following misconduct allegations

Barratt Developments has announced that its chair John Allan is to step down earlier than originally planned in order to prevent the impact of allegations against him becoming “disruptive” to the company.

Allan, who also recently vacated his role as chair of Tesco, will leave the Coalville housebuilding giant on 30 June and be replaced by Caroline Silver, who was originally due to take up the position on 6 September.

Allan has admitted making an inappropriate comment to a female staff member at a CBI conference in 2019 – an incident for which he has apologised. He denies three further allegations, first reported by The Guardian, of inappropriate touching.

In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, Barratt said it had not received any complaints about Allan during his time with the firm.

The statement adds: “At the request of the board, John Allan will step down as chair of the board and as a director of the company on 30 June 2023. The board believes it is in the best interests of Barratt to accelerate the planned transition to the new chair of the board to prevent the ongoing impact of the allegations against John from becoming disruptive to the company.”

Jock Lennox, senior independent director at Barratt Developments, said: “The board is grateful to John for his nine years of service to Barratt. He leaves the company in a strong financial and operational position, continuing to perform well in challenging market conditions.”