Nexus scraps CEO role as £1m loss looms for second year

Nexus Infrastructure has abolished its chief executive role and warned it will post a £1m pre-tax loss for a second consecutive year, after slower project starts left revenue well below market expectations.

Charles Sweeney stepped down from the board with immediate effect and will leave the business at the end of September. His responsibilities will now be split between CFO Dawn Hillman and interim chair Clare Lacey, as the Nexus board moves to strip costs from the business.

The concrete and civils contractor said revenue for the year to September 2026 would reach around £70m, up from £66m last year but far short of market expectations of £79m. The group now expects a £1m pre-tax loss, an improvement on last year's £1.6m loss but still the second straight year in the red.

Nexus blamed the shortfall on the timing of project activity at both its Tamdown and Coleman businesses, alongside slower than expected conversion of secured work during the second half.

Cash stood at around £8.7m at the end of August, down from £10.9m a year earlier.

The contracted order book remained healthy at £75m, with another £15.2m of work secured during September.

Nexus said its immediate focus would be on tightening operational delivery, cutting costs and maintaining tight control of cash and working capital.

Lacey and Hillman will jointly run the concrete framework and water civil engineering businesses following Sweeney's departure.

"Whilst Nexus delivered revenue growth of £4m and continued to reduce its loss before tax in FY26, the year has nevertheless been adversely affected by timing of activity across both Tamdown and Coleman impacting the Group's performance," Lacey said.

"We continue to see opportunities across both Tamdown and Coleman and remain encouraged by customer demand, however, our immediate focus is on improving operational execution and cost efficiency."

She added: "We retain strong customer relationships, a substantial order book and a good cash balance, which we believe positions the Group well to benefit as market conditions improve. We have a strong senior leadership team in place and are confident in their ability to deliver growth."

The group has started searching for an additional independent non-executive director.

The leadership reshuffle and cost-cutting drive signal that Nexus sees operational discipline, rather than demand, as its path back to profitability as it heads into the new financial year.