Defence outsourcing giant Babcock’s chairman to step down after decade in charge

The chairman of defence contractor Babcock, Mike Turner, has said he is to step down in July after a decade in charge.

Turner, who has been at the company for twenty years first as a non-executive director, said he would leave the role at the close of the firm's annual general meeting later this year.

Read more: Guest notes: Boatman’s analysis on Babcock should be treated with scepticism

The company said his decision follows the introduction of the new UK Corporate Governance Code last year, which says companies should consider the length of term that chairs remain in post beyond nine years.

Turner said: “It has been a great pleasure to be part of the Babcock team over the last twenty years since I first joined as a non-executive director.

“During that time, the company has grown its market capitalisation from around £100 million to today's value and has increased its underlying earnings every year for the past decade.”

Babcock chief executive Archie Bethel said: “I would like to thank Mike on behalf of the Babcock board for his service and commitment over his time with the company.

“It has been an honour to work with Mike and Babcock has been fortunate to have had the benefit of his wealth of experience and knowledge. We wish him all the best for the future.”

Babcock endured a torrid end to 2018, after a shadowy anonymous group calling itself Boatman Capital Research released a note criticising Babcock’s operations, including its relationship with the UK Ministry of Defence, its biggest customer.

Read more: Babcock shares drop sharply as company takes £120m restructuring hit

It claimed the FTSE 250 engineering firm faced a number of problems, saying it was “burying bad news about its performance” and saying its leadership was not “not up to the job”.

After several weeks, Babcock eventually refuted the claims, calling them “false and malicious statements”.