Balfour Beatty
Philip Harrison has been appointed finance chief at Balfour Beatty Reuters

Struggling infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty has announced its new finance chief as it looks to combat dwindling profits.

Former VT Group CFO Philip Harrison has joined the troubled company after a string of profit warnings and as newly appointed chief executive Leo Quinn attempts to rebuild senior management following a poor 2014.

Quinn heralded the appointment of 53-year-old Harrison and said that he will play a key part in the rebuilding of the beleaguered company.

"We are delighted to have found and attracted a candidate of Philip's experience and calibre and he will be joining a leadership team committed to restoring Balfour Beatty to strength," he said.

Fortunes have already started to take a turn for the better for Balfour Beatty in 2015. On Monday (20 January), it was awarded a £1.5bn public sector contract.

However, its future as an independent company remains under threat following a series of unsuccessful takeover bids last year. Most recently, it rejected a £1bn offer from John Laing Infrastructure Fund, rebuffing the offer as it thought it was too low.

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