Philip Cox announced in September he will stand down as chairman and from the board as the construction and infrastructure services company reported a “disappointing financial performance” after a “difficult year”.

The new chairman will aim to assist chief executive Andrew Davies effect a turnaround of the business.

In his executive career, Mr Lester was the group chief financial officer of Royal Mail plc from 2010 to 2017, having previously been the group finance director of ICAP plc and held a number of senior finance positions at Diageo plc.

The chartered accountant qualified with Arthur Andersen before spending the early part of his career with Kleinwort Benson.

More recently, Mr Lester has been a non-executive director of Man Group plc (since 2011), Barclays PLC (since 2017) and Capita plc (since 2017). He will stand down from the board of directors of Barclays PLC with effect from 1 January 2020.

Mr Lester will be the chairman of the nomination committee and a member of the remuneration committee.

Matthew Lester said: “I am delighted to be joining Kier as its chairman. I look forward to working with the board to deliver the group’s strategic priorities and in continuing to build the foundations for its future.”