New chairman for Taylor Wimpey

Taylor Wimpey, Europe's largest house builder, has appointed Kevin Beeston as its non-executive chairman with effect from 1 July. He will succeed Norman Askew, who announced his intention to stand down in December.

Mr Beeston recently served as non-executive chairman at Serco Group, a UK-based company specialising in the management of out-sourced public services around the world. He spent a total of 25 years with the company, including eight as chairman.

Mr Beeston has also held non-executive positions with industry representative bodies including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Chartered Management Institute and Business in the Community.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Askew said, "I am delighted to welcome Kevin to the Board of Taylor Wimpey and I know that he will make a valuable contribution to the next stage of the Company's development."

Pete Redfern, Group Chief Executive, added "Kevin brings significant experience of senior management roles within a growing public company and I look forward to working with him to deliver value to shareholders."

Mr Beeston said, "Having spent the majority of my career with Serco Group, I am looking forward immensely to applying my service experience to Taylor Wimpey's future strategic direction and development."