Eric Prescott stands down as Havelock Europa chief

Eric Prescott's departure has been brought forward. Picture: Contributed

The company said its search for a replacement for Prescott, who has overseen a period of change culminating in the firm’s imminent move to Kirkcaldy, continued and an announcement will be made in due course.

David Ritchie, who joined Havelock in 2013 as commercial manager having previously worked for Balfour Beatty, was also yesterday named chief operating officer.

When Prescott announced in January his plans to leave, Havelock said he had played a ”pivotal role for the past four and half years during a period of considerable change for the company”.

“He has overseen a programme of disposals and a restructuring of the core interiors business and the business today is now in a much better financial position from which to build the future. It is the right time to hand over to someone else to take the business forward,” a spokesman said.

In a trading update in January the company said turnover and profit are both expected to be lower than last year. One of Fife’s oldest firms, Havelock had long been based in Dalgety Bay but announced last year that it would be moving all its operations to Kirkcaldy in May. It has sold its Dalgety Bay warehouse and offices to the council for £750,000.

Aim-quoted Havelock has about 550 staff, including more than 400 in Fife. Shares in Havelock closed unchanged at 13.5p last night.