Ex-minister Norris is new chairman at Driver Group
FORMER Government minister Steven Norris is to take over as non-executive chairman at Lancashire construction consultancy Driver Group.
The company announced the appointment at the same time as revealing its operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and the opening of an office in Kuwait had cost the company £850,000 in the first half of 2014.
Additionally, the company has suffered delays to projects in the Middle East (Oman) and, to a lesser extent, in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Out-going non-executive chairman Alan McClue said at the announcement of its preliminary results it was revealed the year would be one in which the company would invest in both the structure of the Group and the recruitment of key fee earning staff particularly in the Middle East and Asia.
“The result of this investment would inevitably mean that, as with last year, our revenue, profits and cash inflow would be weighted towards the second half.
“We also commented that we believed that further opportunities for growth would present themselves and we would invest further where this would enable us to deliver our aspiration of doubling the size of the business, whilst generating material growth in profit levels over the longer term.”
Liverpool-born Conservative Norris, 69, who was appointed to the board in December following the acquisition of Initiate, will take up the appointment of non-executive chairman immediately.
In the late 1980s he served as a parliamentary private secretary to William Waldergrave at the Department of Environment, Nicholas Ridley at the Department of Trade and Industry and Kenneth Baker at the Home office before being promoted to parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport and minister for transport in London by John Major in 1992.
