Paul Briars took the top job at the regional building services arm of the £200m revenue group after nearly five years with NG Bailey where he was north west regional boss.

Before NG Bailey, Briars rose to managing director of Rotary Building Services over the course of a 15-year career with the business.

Lorne Stewart snapped up most of the Rotary business from administrators after its collapse seven years ago.

Briars takes on engineering chief executive role as the group business battles to recover from losses of £12m in 2018 and £8.5m in 2017.

According to the latest accounts for last year, Lorne Stewart is expected to return to profitability this year after clearing several legacy contracts.