Struggling Balfour Poaches Hogg Robinson Exec

Embattled construction group Balfour Beatty will announce on Tuesday that it has poached the finance chief of travel agency Hogg Robinson (LSE: HRG.L - news) as it continues a battle to retain its independence.

Sky News has learnt that Balfour Beatty is to name Philip Harrison as its new chief financial officer just days before it discloses the outcome of an investigation into the accounts of its UK construction arm.

Mr Harrison's appointment will be hailed by Leo Quinn, who took the reins as the company's chief executive on New Year's Day, as evidence that he is rebuilding a senior management team which can recover after a disastrous 12 months.

Balfour Beatty last year sacked Andrew McNaughton, Mr Quinn's predecessor, following several profit warnings, which were a precursor to a merger approach from Carillion.

Initially an agreed deal between the two companies, the tie-up, which would have created a construction and infrastructure giant, fell apart in acrimonious circumstances.

Balfour Beatty is one of the most prominent, with notable projects in recent years including the Aquatic Centre at London's Olympic Park and a forthcoming joint venture to upgrade sections of the M25.

It also has the contract to convert the Olympic stadium into the new home ground of West Ham United FC.

Mr Quinn, himself a former Balfour Beatty employee at the start of his career, is well-respected by City investors for his performance at De La Rue, the banknote printer, and more recently at QinetiQ, the defence research group.

One source said on Monday that the Balfour Beatty finance job would be a "big challenge" for Mr Harrison, who has held the equivalent job at Hogg Robinson since 2012.

He has also worked for Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ - news) and VT Group prior to its acquisition by Babcock International (LSE: BAB.L - news) .

Coincidentally, Mr Harrison could now find himself on the receiving end of a hostile takeover approach from his former VT colleague, Paul Lester, who chairs the John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF).

Mr Harrison will replace Duncan Magrath, who quit in November after six years in the role.

Last month, Balfour Beatty rejected a £1bn approach from JLIF for its investment arm, saying that it "significantly undervalued" its portfolio of public private partnership contracts.

Analysts expect both JLIF and Carillion to return with fresh offers, with the latter precluded from doing so for several more weeks under City rules.

Balfour Beatty, which declined to comment on the appointment of its new chief financial officer, is also close to naming a chairman to replace Steve Marshall.

The company said in December that it would update the market on KPMG's review during the second half of January.